


A Reason To Smile

by Rapis_Razuri



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Angst, Canon Compliant, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-08 09:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 34,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14691516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rapis_Razuri/pseuds/Rapis_Razuri
Summary: There's no need to fake anything if you have a genuine reason to be happy.Collection of Inigo/Lucina drabbles.





	1. Where Stories Begin

**Author's Note:**

> 'A Reason to Smile' was an entry to a "30 Day OTP challenge" back in 2013-2014. Originally posted to Fanfiction.Net, I've decided to import this story to Achieve of Our Own for sentimental reasons. Though I'll be doing some editing in the process, the writing itself is mostly unchanged. Hence, **what you see here is not indicative of nor an example of my current writing quality and/or style**.

Inigo had never been inside a castle before, which was why he decided to sneak away and explore when his parents weren't looking.

Now he regretted leaving his parents' sides as he was lost and had no idea how to find his way back. Unfortunately, his shyness prevented him from asking any of the soldiers or maids for help so the boy ended up walking in what seemed to be circles. Every corridor looked the same to him and there were simply too many turns to keep track of.

Eventually though, Inigo found himself at the training field. A training field that was currently empty, save for a single blue-haired girl close to his age – a blue-haired girl trying to lift a sword that was obviously too big and too heavy for her.

Finally, she gave up and left the sword lying where it was with a frustrated huff. She turned around and froze when she realized he was there. After a moment of just standing there and staring, she started to make her way towards him.

Almost reflexively, Inigo's cheeks reddened and he moved to hide behind a nearby pillar. The girl wasn't deterred by this as she came up to him anyway.

"Hello," she said, "I've never seen you around before. What's your name?"

"I-Inigo." the timid boy managed to stutter. Quietly. The girl frowned and leaned closer. Having never been so close to a girl who wasn't his mother before, Inigo shrunk back and pressed himself closer to the pillar, as if hoping he would just suddenly vanish into the marble like how a dryad from one of his mother's stories would into a tree.

"Sorry, what?"

"Inigo." he tried again.

"Inigo?" He nodded, glad he made himself heard. "I'm Lucina," the girl introduced herself. She looked around, almost cautiously. "Where are your parents?" He shook his head in response.

"I don't know," he replied, "I got lost."

"Oh...good," seeing his puzzled and slightly panicked expression (it was  _good_  that he was lost?), she added, "I'm not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be studying, but it was boring so I came here instead." Inigo only nodded to show he was listening.

"I'll help you find your parents if you promise not to tell." He nodded again. Lucina took his hand and pulled him along.

"Do you remember where you last saw them?"

"Well..."

Lucina knew her way around the castle well enough to work with the vague details he gave her. After several mishaps – like knocking over a bespectacled boy and making him drop the stack of books he was carrying ("Sorry, Laurent!"), attending a tea party ("Uh, okay Cynthia. We'll have anouther cup before we go."), and helping Lucina's cousin hide his father's sword in the pegasus stable for some reason ("Why is Aunt Lissa's name on it?") – Lucina asked Inigo about himself.

"Can you use a weapon yet?" Inigo shook his head. Olivia had promised to teach him how to wield a sword when he was bigger (which he was looking forward to) and Henry had  _very_  enthusiastically announced that he will be teaching him everything he knew about identifying, casting, and removing curses shortly after (which he wasn't. Dark magic was scary).

"Can you?"

"A little," Lucina replied, "but its not enough. That's why I was in the training field today. I have to be strong so Falchion will pick me. Then I'll be able to protect everybody like Father."

"Why?"

"Not just anyone can use Falchion. Aunt Lissa can't." She looked down and kicked her feet. Inigo though she looked really sad, so he tried to think of something to say to make her happy again.

"I think it will pick you."

Lucina raised her head to look at him. "Really? You think so?"

"Uh-huh." It worked. She smiled. She was really pretty when she smiled, not that she wasn't pretty when she didn't but...Inigo's realized what exactly he was thinking and blushed to the roots of his silvery hair again. Oh well, at least she was happy again.

They finally managed to locate Inigo's parents, as well as a woman wearing a black and purple cloak. "That's my mother," Lucina explained quietly. Inigo had no idea why she suddenly became so nervous at the sight of her.

"Inigo!" Olivia cried with relief when she saw her son, clearly worried when she noticed he had disappeared.

"See, Henry," Lucina's mother said to the dark mage, "told you there was no need for a scouring spell." With her hands on her hips, she then turned from Henry to the girl his son was still holding hands with. "As for you, young lady..."

"Politics is boring!" Lucina burst out before she could speak further, "I want to be a Shepherd like Father!" The cloaked woman knelt down to her level and spoke in a voice that indicated that she was disappointed but not angry.

"I know sweetheart, but even your father had to attend his lessons too."

Inigo felt Lucina's grip on his hand – which must be getting clammy and sweaty and gross – tightening. Was she in trouble? Inigo had never truly gotten into trouble with his parents before and he didn't want Lucina to get into trouble after she helped him.

"Um..." he attempted to speak up, but nobody heard him.

"Promise not to skip anymore of your lessons?"

"Yes Mother," Lucina said, "I promise."

"Alright then," Robin said smiling and running a hand down her daughter's hair, "Why don't you go introduce your new friend to the others?"

"But he's already met everyone!" the young girl exclaimed, "except Brady and Noire because they were at the healer's and Maribelle said they were sick and if we saw them then we would also get sick." She stopped long enough to catch her breath, "And I can't find Morgan."

"I see." The tactician said, her eyes brimming with laughter, "I think Morgan is in the library. Why don't you go tell him to take a break?"

"Okay!" Lucina finally let go of Inigo's and ran off to find her younger brother. He stared after her and wondered if she will come back. He liked holding her hand.

Would she let him hold it again some other time?


	2. Sleep Soundly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Instead of saying I love you, she said "thank you."

_Oh sweet almighty Naga..._

What was she doing in Inigo's tent,  _in Inigo's bed_  (technically cot, for those who are splitting hairs), snuggled up at his side, and asleep?

At least they were both still fully clothed, which should, if anything, be a consolation, but Lucina didn't really care about that right now. What if someone noticed she didn't spend the night in her tent and then noticed her leaving his? What if they put two and two together and come to the obvious (and wrong) conclusion? What would people  _think_? Especially with his reputation as a shameless womanizer.

Inigo was still asleep. If she left now, she could probably tell anyone that happened to see her that she was simply checking up on him after he had taken a hit for her in their last skirmish, which wasn't exactly a lie. Lucina quickly disentangled her limbs from his and managed to take all but two steps before–

"Leaving already?" Inigo was sitting up now, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Lucina briefly recalled the previous night's events. She was checking up on him as it was her fault he got hurt in the first place. Exhausted from the battle, she had decided to just close her eyes for a minute or two and then...

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

Inigo blinked a few times as he tried to remember. "Well...you were pretty tired so I figured you needed the rest." At least he had the decency to look slightly embarrassed, "Should I not have?"

She nodded. "I didn't mean to impose."

"You weren't imposing," he assured her, "and personally I think that was the best night of sleep I've had since..." His eyes darkened as he stopped mid-sentence, but Lucina was able to finish it because after the initial shock of finding herself literally sleeping with the man she recently developed feelings for, she had thought the same thing.

"...since Grima, right?" No nightmares, no waking up in the middle of the night screaming or in a cold sweat, no sleeping with one eye open out of fear that a horde of Risen were hiding in the shadows less than ten feet away, ready to attack at any moment. No nightmares of Grima, taunting her on her desperate attempts to save a doomed world. No visions where she lost everyone she loved in this time despite doing everything she could to keep them safe. Coming back in time added a new recurring nightmare to the ones she already had. In this new one, she still saw people running away in fear, but they were not running away from Risen because they were running away from  _her_. Was it the same for Inigo? Looking into his eyes, she knew the answer was  _yes_.

Still, he was right about one thing. For once, she actually had a full night of uninterrupted, dreamless sleep and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't thankful for that.

Inigo stood up and straightened his clothes the best he could. "On the bright side," he began with his usual cheerful disposition that didn't seem all that genuine to her anymore, "at least you're all rested up and ready for whatever today has in store for us." He turned to leave the tent, "you should probably wait a few minutes if you don't want to be seen."

"Inigo."

"Huh?"

"Um..." The truth was, she wanted to tell him now he felt, but there where so many things that could go wrong. Perhaps she worried that she would just become another conquest for him. There was the possibility that he didn't feel the same way. It would make things so awkward between them she was afraid it would damage what they already had. True, he annoyed her at times, but it didn't change the fact that he was one of her best friends. So instead of saying  _I love you_ , she said "thank you."

He cocked his head to one side, confused. "For what?"

"For always being there for me," she explained, suddenly feeling very shy especially since she was well aware of what that phrase really meant. "Just yesterday, it was my fault I didn't notice the archer and you got hurt protecting me because of my carelessness."

"Oh, that?" He was deliberately avoiding her gaze now. Was it her or the lighting because it looked as though he were blushing? "Don't worry about it, okay?"

"But still–"

"We better hurry up before Kjelle's father eats all the leftovers!" he interrupted, wildly changing the subject. He was  _definitely_  blushing now. "you know how much it sucks to march on an empty stomach?" With that, he slipped outside.

Alone in his tent, Lucina found herself smiling despite her best efforts.


	3. Stratagem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wager is made. Morgan is confused.

To say it was raining hard today would be an understatement. It was  _pouring._  Someone looking out a window would barely be able to see anything. Chrom didn't want his army to march in unfamiliar territory in such unfavorable conditions, so the Shepherds were all about the fort, finding ways to pass time as they waited out the storm.

In the mess hall, two navy haired siblings were seated at one end of the dining table with a board game between them. The girl's brow was furrowed as she examined the pieces, trying to decide which was the best course of action. Finally she made her move. It was only when her brother's face broke into a wide grin did she realize she left her commander vulnerable to one of his wyvern riders.

"Check  _and_  mate."

"You win again," Lucina sighed in defeat, "for the forth time in a row."

"Aww...cheer up!" Morgan replied, happily setting the pieces back to their original starting positions. "You're getting better!"

"That's encouraging to hear," she said, not bothered by her loss. They played this same strategy game back in their future. Morgan may not remember it, but she did. She knew his lack of memory bothered him more than he let on, so she decided to do what she can to help him remember. If not, then to make new memories. Playing a familiar game with him should help. "I really thought I had you that time."

"You did," Morgan informed her, seeing nothing wrong with telling her this now that the match was over, "if my paladin wasn't where it was at the time, I probably would've lost."

"Regardless, I think I will leave the tactics to you and Mother."

"I suppose that–" Morgan stopped to wave at someone behind Lucina, "Hey, Inigo!"

The mercenary who just entered the mess hall came over when his name was called. He really didn't need to ask any questions. The game board was between them with Lucina's commander knocked over told him all he needed to know. "Let me guess, Morgan won."

"He won alright," Lucina confirmed, "I'm no match for him, let alone our mother."

"Neither am I," Inigo laughed, "he destroyed me completely in our last game."

"You've played with Morgan before?" This was news to Lucina. Inigo didn't strike her as the tactical kind.

"Nine losses and no wins."

"Hey, why don't you two play each other?" Morgan piped up, "since neither of you can beat me maybe the two of you will be a better match up."

"Huh?"

"Yeah! It can't be fun losing all the time" Morgan said as he turned from one of the two older time-travelers to the other, "well, what do you say?" Lucina sighed. Sometimes, she found it much too difficult to say  _no_  to her baby brother.

"Alright, then" she agreed, "I suppose one game can't hurt."

"If Lucina doesn't mind," the mercenary conceded. Though with a sly smirk, he added, "How about we make things a little more interesting with a wager?"

"Oh?" Morgan was genuinely surprised to hear the light teasing in the princess's voice. "And what conditions do you propose?"

"If I win, I get to take you out on a date."

"What?!" Morgan exclaimed. True, it was the expected suggestion from Inigo, but no brother, younger or older, liked seeing someone hit on his sister. He was hoping that Lucina would not agree to this.

"Alright."

"Lucina–?"

"But," ignoring her brother's outburst, Lucina gave Inigo a smirk of her own. "If  _I_  win, I want you to perform one of your dances for me." Considering how quickly rumors and gossip traveled within the Shepherds' camp, Inigo's secret ambition wasn't exactly a secret anymore. However, that didn't change the fact that Inigo's typical reaction to someone watching him or even the  _idea_  of someone watching him dance was utter mortification so it'll probably be unlikely that he will agree.

Again, Morgan was proven wrong.

"Challenge accepted."

"WHAT?"

The game began. Morgan scratched his head in confusion because he was pretty sure he was missing something. He mulled over the conversation that just occurred, the two recent behavior around each other, and the fact that, according to his mother, they've been fighting together on the battlefield. Actually, he recalled her saying they're been fighting together a lot  _and_  very effectively at that.

Could it be that Inigo and his sister like each other?

...As in,  _like_ like?


	4. To Each Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chrom gives the Dad Talk to his daughter's boyfriend twenty years earlier than he expected.

"I won't be long."

"Don't worry," he replied, "take as much time as you need."

Lucina gave him a grateful look and kissed his cheek before sprinting off to the nursery where her infant self was. She just barely turned the corner when somebody behind him spoke.

"Where is she going?"

Inigo jumped at the sound of the voice behind him and turned around to face Ylisse's newly named Exalt. "C-Chrom! Uh, sir! Milord?" He wasn't normally this formal, but this was  _Chrom_ , for gods' sake. He took the speech he was given by the blue-haired lord when he and Lucina revealed that they were together seriously.  _Very_  seriously.

"'Chrom' will do," the Exalt said dryly, as if there was a private joke the other man wasn't aware of, "you are engaged to my daughter, after all."

"Um...right." Inigo said hesitantly, not sure what to make of Chrom's second comment, "you asked me a question?"

"Yes, I did," Chrom replied patiently in a way that made Inigo want to shrink back, but the mercenary held his ground. "Where was Lucina going?"

"To say good bye and wish herself good luck."

"I see." Even though he didn't specifically father the older Lucina and that Morgan was not yet born in this time, he still considered both of them as his children. The two stood in some awkward silence before Chrom decided to speak up. "I confess, Inigo, I had my doubts about you," he began, "but I've seen how she acts around you. And you have been faithful to her since the two of you started courting," he added as an afterthought.

Inigo should've expected that, really. It still took a while for the others to realize that yes, he was really over that stage once he and Lucina confessed their feelings to each other. "Thanks, I guess?"

"My point is," Chrom continued, "you make her happy and from what I know, she doesn't have many happy memories from before reuniting with us, so, just keep making her happy. Do I make myself clear?"

"I.." Inigo was really at a loss for words now, but it was a happy and relieved sort-of feeling, rather than an  _Oh-gods-he's-going-to-chop-me-to-bloody-bits_  sort-of-feeling, that caused his temporary muteness. "P-Perfectly clear, milord!"

Chrom visibly relaxed at these words as well. "Good. I believe you."

Lucina returned just as the two men reached an understanding. She looked between her father and fiancee, trying to figure out what they were just talking about, before walking up to give the former a hug.

"We'll be going now, Father." she mumbled into his shoulder, "We'll keep an eye out for Mother while we're on the road." Chrom nodded. He still had baby Lucina, but he still felt like he was losing his entire family one by one. Robin had sacrificed herself to destroy Grima and even though he believed that she's still out there, somewhere, her absence left a hole within him that he can't quite forget about; Lissa had chosen to accompany Lon'qu to Ferox and now, both Lucina and Morgan had decided it would be best for them to leave the castle for the time being. The pain of saying good-bye, even if it was only temporary, was lessened slightly as his sister and children promised that they will stay in contact though letters.

"Stay safe and keep in touch," Chrom said. When he let go of Lucina, he cast Inigo a meaningful look and Inigo gave a respectful nod in return.

Lucina didn't ask what went on between the two of them until they were in the courtyard. "What were you and Father talking about?"

"Oh, nothing worth mentioning, I think" he answered with a small laugh. "What about you?"

"Hmm..." She was surveying the courtyard a wistful, nostalgic, expression and he wondered if she was having second thoughts about leaving. When she finally looked away, she reached out to put a hand on the back of his neck to press their foreheads together. "I told the me of this time that her future will be a bright one, but," she looked him straight in the eye when she said this. His heart leaped when he noticed that both her eyes and her lips were smiling. "I know my future will be as well."


	5. Respite in Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina's Big Sister sense is tingling. Inigo gets dragged along for the ride.

It took a while for him to convince her to take a break from her rigorous training schedule and spend a day with him in the nearby town and do some window shopping, have some tea, and the like.

Or at least that was the plan before Lucina noticed Morgan practically  _skipping_  along the road hand in hand with Nah. It was a nice day, so it would be natural that many of the Shepherds were out and about, spending some time in town instead of spending the whole day back at camp.

"Remind me again why we're stalking Morgan and Nah on their date during  _our_  date?" Inigo asked as they watched the tactician and the manakete enter a bookstore from an table in a tea shop across the road. They managed to get the table right next to the window with a flower box so they had a perfect view of the bookstore entrance.

"It's not that I don't like Nah," Lucina murmured with furrowed brows. "I'm just  _worried_..."

Inigo sighed. Lucina was fiercely protective of Morgan, even more so than before. He could understand why she would be though. The young tactician had vanished sometime in their future and been presumed dead (or worse, but that was a possibility nobody wanted to talk about) by all of them, which was why Lucina never mentioned him to her parents. That is, until the Shepherds found him completely by chance in the Ruins of Time remembering nothing but vague memories of his mother. This was like a second chance for her; a chance to keep her brother safe when she couldn't before.

Still, it didn't really explain why she needed to watch him like a hawk on his first date though.

An elderly man, probably the store owner, stepped outside the bookstore to take a look around before returning indoors.

"Did I ever tell you that Nah used to have a crush on me?" Inigo suddenly asked, completely out of the blue.

Lucina nearly choked on her tea, completely caught off guard by this sudden revelation. " _What_?! When?!"

"Oh don't worry," he added hastily, "that was a while ago. She never brought it up since."

She sighed. While she had accepted the fact that she wasn't the first girl Inigo kissed before, she still could not stop grimacing when hearing tales of his past love life. She did  _not_  feel like introducing every other girl he's ever looked at (or vice versa) to Falchion,  _thank you very much_. "I could've lived without that knowledge, you know."

"Sorry," Inigo said, grinning, "I guess seeing her and Morgan enjoy themselves so much made me think about it. I'm just glad she's over that. I didn't really know how to turn her down seeing as I've been in love with you for so long. I've always seen her as more of a little sister despite being the same age as me, you know? Morgan's a good kid, even if he's a bit spacey...uh, no offense." He noticed Lucina's expression had changed from exasperated annoyance to a knowing smile. "What?" he asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. He wasn't used to such positive attention from girls, after all.

"You know, Inigo," she began, still smiling in a way that made him think she knew something he didn't, "you do have a heart in the right place. Maybe you would have had more luck with girls if you tried being less leery and more...you."

"You think so?"

"I think so," she mused, "but I would rather not know whether I'm right or not."

"Why?" Inigo finally managed to tease back, "so you can have me all to yourself since every other girl have been turning me down?"

She blushed and looked away. "Is it that obvious?"

Inigo reached across the table and placed a hand on her cheek so she was looking back at him. "Well, lay your worries to rest Lucina, because that's all in the past. I promise I'm your's forever."

Lucina grabbed his wrist and entwined their fingers together. "And I your's," she murmured.

There was a sound that sounded a lot like somebody gagging from outside the window. The noise snapped both of them out of the little world that consisted of only the two them.

"Have you noticed they're taking a really long time in there? Morgan must've found a book he really liked."

"Now that you mention it..."

Inigo and Lucina both turned to the window, noticing a bit of purple hair sticking out among the flowers that wasn't there before.

"Nah? Morgan?" Inigo called, "you can come out now. We know you're there."

The two spying on them appeared at the window, annoyed and embarrassed that they were caught so soon.

"Drats," Morgan groaned, "and here I was thinking that I was so clever for turning the tables so  _we_  were spying on  _you_."

"You guys are kind of bad at this date stalking thing," Nah added bluntly. She's always been touchy about people treating her like a child despite being an adult in human years; If she heard Inigo saying she was like a little sister too him, she was either not bothered by it or was simply doing a good job at not showing that she was. "The first time I smelled you? Thought it was nothing. The second time? Probably a coincidence. The third? I figured something was up."

"Apparently so," Lucina laughed. Perhaps she should be more annoyed at them for interrupting her and Inigo's moment, but then again, they had more or less spent the morning following them, so this was probably justice. "Now, are you two going to stay out there or do you want to come in for some cake?"

"Really? Cake? Oh, yay!" Morgan vanished from the window, dragging Nah along with him by the hand, soon followed by the ringing of a bell as the door to the teashop was opened.

The four of them ended up spending the remainder of the day together. While returning to camp, Lucina and Inigo fell back behind Morgan and Nah, fingers still entwined. She had her head casually leaned on his shoulder and his on top of her's as they walked.

"Sorry about making you follow my brother around with me on our first date," Lucina said quietly enough so the two ahead of them wouldn't hear.

"Don't be. It was enough, just spending time together," Inigo sighed with a smile, "once we destroy that damned fell dragon for good, we'll have all the time in the world to go on dates."

She silently agreed. Originally, she just wanted to save the future, but once that goal has been seen too, she had no other plans. Now, she had a future of her own to look forward to and fight for.

"And we'll defeat that damned fell dragon together."


	6. Petals and Butterfly Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Souvenirs are chosen and gifts are given.

Yen'fey has been defeated and the dynasts were in complete disarray. All that was left for the Shepherds to do was the defeat the Conquer Walhart himself, though it would be no easy task. To prepare for the upcoming battle, Robin had sent Inigo and Lucina to restock the army's supply of weapons and supplies (while muttering something about being worried that Laurent and Severa might kill each other over fruit). To speed things along, the two had separated when they first arrived at the town, Lucina to purchase staves and Inigo to restock their medical supplies like curative potions and bandages.

As Lucina spoke to the smith about his supply of steel weapons, Inigo noticed an old man sitting in a corner by the window wordlessly working on something. Curiosity sparked, he cast a quick look over at Lucina. She seemed to be handing things well, so he strode over to the man. The old man smiled warmly at him and Inigo saw that upon the table lay several metal charms of a variety of shapes. However, only one managed to catch his eye. The butterfly shaped charm brought forth the memory of a warm summer day.

" _It might not ever get to fly you know."_

" _What?! Why?"_

" _It has to let it's wings dry first, so right now it's just a sitting duck. Anything can fly by and CHOMP. No more butterfly!"_

" _That's horrible!"_

" _That's just how things are in nature."_

"Can I help you with something, lad?"

"Oh!" The old man's voice brought him back from the woods where he, his father and Lucina witnessed the sight of a blue butterfly emerging from its cocoon. He and Lucina had spent the afternoon guarding the small creature from predators with the wooden sticks they called swords. "Uh, no. Not really. I'm just taking a look."

"Good, good. These charms are a tradition around here. Almost every shop here sells them," the old man explained to Inigo, recognizing him as a foreigner. "Back in Valm's founding years, many of the young men had to leave home to fight. Their families would give them a charm like this to keep on their swords as a memento and a good luck charm. To this day, it is still believed that a charm given to you by someone close to you attached to your weapon will bring you good fortune."

His eyes briefly darted towards the blue-haired princess examining the blade of a sword. "Perhaps you should buy one for your lass," he suggested.

Inigo's felt his face ignite and would've protested that Lucina wasn't "his lass" if it weren't for the fact that she would definitely overhear. The charm-seller chuckled understandingly and Inigo picked up the metal butterfly to distract himself.

The charm was beautifully made, he had to admit. He could see the detail put into the patterns on its wings. Despite looking fragile, it felt durable in his hands. Some may simply dismiss the charm's luck-bringing as mere superstition, but Inigo could see the appeal of it.

There is no doubt among the Shepherds that Walhart was a fearsome opponent. Furthermore, Lucina still blamed herself for Basilio's death. Should he buy this one as a gift for her to hopefully bring her out of the quiet depression she was in since Flavia returned with the news and Gules? She always did have an affiliation for butterflies since that day. "Okay. How much is this one?"

The charm seller named a reasonable price and Inigo handed over the gold. He managed to slip the charm into a pocket just as Lucina thanked the smith for the weapons she purchased. Inigo went over to help her with the load.

When they deposited the weapons in the convey, Inigo closed a fist around the butterfly charm.

"Lucina, wait."

She turned to face him questioningly.

"What is it?"

"I haven't seen you smiling recently."

Fire briefly flashed in her eyes before it was replaced with sorrow. "I know I promised, Inigo, but Basilio..."

The news had shaken him as well. After all, Basilio was like a father to Olivia, so the khan was like a grandfather to him. Inigo walked forward until he was close enough to take her wrist. He turned her palm face up and placed the charm in her hand. "It's not your fault," he assured her, but he had a feeling that she would still blame herself regardless of what he or anyone else said. "I saw this while you were speaking to the weapons smith and thought this might cheer you up, even if just a little."

When she recognized what he placed in her hand, a small smile (the same one that always made his heart pound in his chest) slowly appeared on her face. "Thank you." she murmured. As if suddenly inspired, she reached into the small pack at her side and pulled out a similar charm and handed it to him. "I actually bought this for Father while looking at the staves," she admitted, "but I want you to have it now."

Inigo knew it was a flower at once. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a Ylissian iris, the flower that represented hope and perseverance due to being able to survive in environments too harsh or deficient for other plants. In their future, the sight of one always lifted his spirits, no matter how briefly. "I'll take good care of it." he promised. He knew he was going to attach it to the pommel of his sword, thanks to the old man''s story. Did the person who sold Lucina the iris also tell her the significance of these charms?

He got his answer the following day when he saw a butterfly dangling on the end of Falchion's hilt.


	7. Reunion

A side trip north of Valm Harbor ended with them at the Great Gate. The villages nearby were beset by Grimleal bandits so the Shepherds offered their assistance.

Lucina had just defeated one bandit when another had decided to sneak up on her, hoping to defeat her before she could recover. Before he could get close enough to do so, he was impaled from behind. He cursed and glared down at the killing edge protruding from his stomach. His killer withdrew the sword and the bandit collapsed on the ground revealing to Lucina her rescuer.

Relief and happiness flooded though her as she recognized him as another one of the children who jumped back in time with her.

"Inigo!"

"Hey there Princess," he greeted her as casually as if they had met up again in a tea shop rather than in the middle of a battle, "Nice to see you're no longer wearing that mask. A face that pretty  _really_  shouldn't be hidden from the world."

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation. It was so typical of Inigo to flirt with her, or any of their other female comrades, she was sure, as soon as he saw her. "I'm glad you haven't changed."

However, as she looked him up and down, she noticed that it wasn't completely true. He  _had_  changed; physically, at least. He seemed to have grown a couple inches when they had been close to the same height the last time she saw him. His hair and clothes were neater and his complexion made him appear healthier than before. She supposed that was to be expected. After all, she's found that she had more time to take care of herself in this time as well.

"Have you seen your parnts?"

Inigo nodded and made a gesture towards the general direction where the dancer held off a pegasus knight with her sword as her husband prepared a spell to blast the enemy out of the sky. "I haven't told them the truth about me yet. I think I'll wait until after the battle is over to let them know."

Before Lucina could reply, another pair of bandits appeared to engage them with their weapons drawn. They both turned around, falling into the familiar routine of standing shoulder to shoulder so they faced their foes with their backs against each other as if they had never been separated at all. Regardless of what or how frivolous his pursuits were when off the battlefield, she knew she could trust him when on it.

"I have to admit," Lucina heard him say with a chuckle, "I missed fighting together with you like this."

She smiled despite herself. "So did I, Inigo, so did I."


	8. Courage and Strength

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina gives a pep talk. Inigo gets jealous of himself.

Lucina shivered. The last time they were in this world, they had been inside a building being smothered by smoke and fire. Now, they were standing out in the open during a heavy rainfall. For once, she wished that the fighting would just start so she could get herself warmed up.

Beside her, Inigo was looking around the valley. "I remember this place," he muttered quietly, "I passed though this place on our way back from Plegia. Except..."

"What is it?" she asked softly.

"Naga said we...they – whatever _–_ were overwhelmed and killed by Risen, right?" Lucina swallowed and nodded. Just the  _thought_  of any version of him dying was unbearable. "There weren't any Risen in our time. Not enough to pose a threat, anyway..."

"Everything just seems to be a lot worse in this world." She remembered speaking with Cynthia about the differences between events after the first visit.

"Yes, but–"

"There!" Panne shouted from above on a wyvern, catching everyone's attention. She was pointing towards four figures that appeared on the other side of the valley. Lucina squinted. She was no taguel and the rain was making it hard to see, but she managed to identify the figures as this world's Inigo, Owain, Brady and Yarne. A second later, an army of undead appeared from behind.

The Shepherds watched tensely as Brady and Yarne crossed the drawbridge while the former two held off their pursuers. When they were safely across, Yarne checked their surroundings with his sharp taguel senses. Brady shouted something to the two behind. In response, Owain turned to Inigo and began speaking urgently.

"Why aren't they crossing?" Lissa asked, anxiously watching her son. As if to answer her question, Other Inigo cut the bridge separating him and Owain from their two companions with a swipe of his sword, effectively trapping the two with the Risen on that side.

Olivia and Lissa let out nearly identical shrieks of fear.

Lucina whirled around the face the Inigo standing with her among the Shepherds, eyes wide, hoping he might be able to shed some light on his counterpart's actions.

"He must pretty desperate," was all he said.

Realizing that it was only a matter of seconds before Henry and Lon'qu would break formation and rush forward to rescue their sons - and no no doubt closely followed by Olivia and Lissa, Robin began shouting out orders.

"Lucina," her mother had turned to her at last. She had sent Inigo off with Owain on his wyvern earlier. "I want you to join the group defending this world's Inigo and Owain. I'll take you there on my pegasus. Unless you want to stay on this side? Then I'll take Morgan with me."

"I..."  _Unable to stave off their pursuers...overwhelmed and killed_.

 _This_  wasn't the Inigo that traveled back in time with her.  _This_  wasn't the Inigo that could make her smile in spite of everything going on.  _This_  wasn't the Inigo she had fallen in love with, but she cannot deny that she wanted to see him safely home. If not for him, then for her similitude here. She's lost enough; she didn't need to lose another. "I'll go, Mother. Thank you."

Robin dropped Lucina off close to where Other Inigo and Other Owain were fighting. She didn't actually plan to speak with Other Inigo as she simply wanted to be close enough to watch his back, but unfortunately, fate had other plans.

"Lucina?"

She flinched at the confused, and slightly weary, sound of her name and knew she had been discovered. What was she supposed to say to him?

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, "why are't you back in Ylisstol? What if something happened to you?"

"No," she had to explain. She almost cringed again when she took in his appearance. Gods...he looked as though he's gone through hell and back and not quite out yet. Seeing all those cuts and scratches on him and knowing there's bound to be more, she quietly prayed to Naga that someone – Aunt Lissa, Maribelle, her mother – will get around to healing him soon. "I'm not the Lucina you know. I came from another world with Naga's power."

"Another world?" he repeated, flabbergasted. She couldn't blame him. If their situations were reversed, she would probably react the same way.

"Yes." There was one thing she had to say to him. "I saw you cut down the bridge.  _What the blazes were you thinking?!_ " She hadn't meant to yell, but she couldn't help it.

"Brady has the gemstones," he replied, still in that weary and defeated tone that sounded unreal to her ears. "It would've taken Owain and me too long to cross if we both went. Owain wanted to fight and I couldn't just leave him to die alone here could I?"

"Inigo..."

"Still...I'm glad you're here," Other Inigo said at last with the weak smile that didn't reach his eyes. "There's something I have to let you know..."

"What is it?" she asked tentatively.

He exhaled deeply and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight into the eye. "Lucina...I love you."

She was rather taken aback by this sudden confession, but she stayed silent because he wasn't done.

"I always have. I never had the courage to say it. How can I when I will likely never be worthy of you? You're the princess of Ylisse, and I'm...I'm just the son of a Feroxi dancer. All those other girls? Useless attempts to forget about you." A weak, bitter laugh escaped his throat. "But I'd do anything for you Lucina, that's why I want this mission to succeed no matter what. If it means that I have to sacrifice myself so Argent and Sable can reach you, then so be it!" He paused to catch his breath after this passionate deceleration.

A stabbing pain in her gut reminded her that without their interference, his sacrifice would've been meaningless.

When he opened his mouth to speak again, his voice was much more subdued. "Even so...I didn't want to die without ever telling you. Even if you aren't actually...her."

He's given up. He's accepted death. She had no idea what made her do what she did next. A part of her mind told her that it was completely improper, completely stupid, and may very well completely complicate things for Other Inigo and Other Lucina once this world was saved (because dammit, they were going to save it).

She kissed him.

Neither long nor deep, but it was still a kiss. When she pulled back, he stood frozen with shock. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

He didn't say anything, so she just kept talking. "Look, I know I can't speak for the Lucina of this world because we're not the same person, but I'm certain that she cares for you." She thought back to her own experience of waiting in Ylisse castle for the others to return with the emblem and gemstones.

"I know she must be thinking of you, all of you, wondering if she made the right decision to send you on this mission, afraid that she had sent you all to your deaths. Brady and Yarne  _will_  get the gemstones to Ylisse, I can promise you that. I'm not the only one Naga summoned." She was certain her words were the truth. Inigo and Owain's parents weren't the only ones who were protective of any world's version of their children. "None of you will die today if my friends and I have anything to say about it. If I have to personally escort you and the others back to this world's Lucina, I will. So please... don't make her grieve for another loved one."

"And, um...here," she shoved an elixir into his hands. "You said you would do anything for me, right? All I have to ask of you is to stay alive."

"Lucina..." The pink tinge on his cheeks was darker. "I...that kiss...everything you said," Other Inigo struggled to find words. "Well, I guess now I have no choice but to survive this."

He was smiling for real now. A small one was all that he could muster at the moment, but it was enough for her. She knew she succeeded in convincing him to hang on to hope. There's no way he would give up now. "Thank you, Lucina, but you be careful too. If there's another Inigo from where you came from, I'm sure he wouldn't want to lose you either."

With that, he entered the fray again.

Just as one Inigo vanished, another appeared. The Inigo from her world's gaze was following the direction where his doppelganger had headed.

"I have no idea what you said to him, but whatever it was, it worked. He's fighting even harder now."

"I kissed him." She said flatly, still a tad dazed from her conversation with the other Inigo.

Inigo stared.

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not."

To her surprise, Inigo snorted with laughter. "I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be jealous of  _myself_...haha...how did I –he react?"

Lucina shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I...I'll tell you the details later. Come on, these Risen aren't going to kill themselves, you know."


	9. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heron princesses and raven princes.

Inigo couldn't sleep.

As he lay staring up at the roof of his tent, he couldn't help but muse at the irony of it. When he first landed in this time, it was his uncertainty and anxiety that kept him awake at night. He had thought that it would get better for him once he found Olivia and Henry, but nope, he was still plagued with insomnia. Perhaps it was just that he had joined the Shepherds just in time for the Conquest of Valm. War meant more fighting and more fighting meant...

Then again, nobody was foolish enough to think that changing the future would be easy.

Sighing, he got out of the cot. Since he couldn't sleep, maybe he'll go out and find a clearing where he could practice some dance steps. He did always want to show Olivia the second half of her favorite dance to him and now, if he could  _just_  finish it, he definitely could.

He picked up his sword since he never went anywhere without it and stepped out of the tent just in time to see someone else leave camp.

Lucina. Where was she going in the middle of the night?

Concerned for the princess, Inigo abandoned his original plan and followed her. She wasn't heading to where Sully and Kjelle had set up the practice dummies to practice her swordplay, as he had first thought, but rather to a nearby hill. She sat down on the grass, leaning back with her hands behind her, gazing up at the heavens.

Stargazing? Inigo leaned back to look at the night sky. It  _does_  look much clearer than in the future once he thought about it. He took a step to get a better view of the sky since he was still in the shade of the trees and stepped on a branch. Lucina immediately got into a fighting stance at the sound. Inigo supposed that kind of instinct was something they will never part with.

"Who's there?" she demanded, a hand on Falchion's hilt. Inigo stepped out from his hiding place. "Inigo? What are you doing here?"

"Couldn't sleep," he replied with a shrug, "I saw you leaving camp and decided to follow you." Worried that this might make him sound like a stalker, he quickly added, "its not safe to be wandering around at night by yourself."

"Then what were you going to do before you saw me?"

"I thought I'd...practice for a bit."

She arced an eyebrow. "By yourself?"

"Touche," he sighed, "I told you what I was up to. What about you?"

"I...couldn't really sleep either," Lucina confessed, "so I decided to come out and look at the stars."

Simply wanting a reason to spend time with her rather than actually wanting to look at the stars, he asked "may I join you?"

"Of course." Lucina lay down on her back again. Inigo followed her lead. He didn't know much about the patterns the stars formed so they simply looked like scattered dots of light to him.

"So...which constellations can you see tonight?"

"Hmm..." She was silent for a moment as the surveyed the sky. Then she pointed upwards. "There's the heron."

Inigo tried looking at where she was pointing. "I don't see it."

"Here, come closer." She scooted over so the two of them were each occupying half of where she had been lying before. "Those three stars are the body..." she pointed up again, tracing a path for him to follow. "And those four stars, two on each side, are the wings."

Admittedly, being so close to her made it hard to concentrate, but Inigo looked again. He tried imagining the bird with its its wings spread in flight...

"Can you see it now?"

 _There!_  "Yes!" Inigo grinned, "yes, I see it." As happy as he was to be able to see it, the specific constellation reminded him of something. "Mother used to sing this song about a heron princess before she...you know."

"Really?" she asked softly, knowing how difficult it was for him to talk about his parents' deaths. She turned her body so she was facing him. "Do you think you can you tell me?"

"It's not a happy tale."

A beat.

"I still want to hear."

"Alright, alright,"

Some of the finer details were lost to him, but he remembered enough to tell a coherent story. Lucina was an attentive listener. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't like the feeling of having her eyes on him and him alone.

"So in the end, she was reunited with her love, but her home was destroyed."

"Told you it wasn't a happy story."

"Did the forest ever recover?"

Inigo blinked, "I...never actually thought of that before. It was just how Mother told it to me, so I always assumed it ended like that."

Lucina sighed and rolled onto her back again. "There's an old Tellius myth that goes like the song where a forest destroyed by a fire was restored through a galdr sung by a pair of herons."

"That may be what the ballad was based upon. The forest's destruction that is," Inigo admitted, "but both the song and the dance choreography ends with the princess staring sadly at the moon."

There was some silence before Lucina proposed, "well...why don't you add in the rebuilding yourself?"

"...What?"

"Why don't you write another act with the kingdom restored yourself?" she explained, "I mean...you do dance, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Inigo said absently. However, he sat up when he realized what he just agreed to. "Wait, how do you know that I dance?"

"Before all this, I saw you one day," Lucina admitted, sitting up as well, nervously ruffling her hair. "Near Southtown, after...after we failed to save the weaver and his family...I think. You were so...amazing."

He was grateful that it was dark enough to hide the fact that her compliment had turned him beet red. "I don't think I'm amazing enough to overwrite the ending for a routine that's been around for years." Even as he said this, her words had lit a spark of inspiration in him.

"Is that so?" she sounded genuinely disappointed. "I thought you of all people would be capable of changing a bittersweet ending into a happy one. After all, isn't that what we're here for?"

"Hmm...when you put it that way," Inigo jumped to his feet. He turned to face the princess with a hand outstretched and the other behind him with a little bow. "May I have this dance milady?"

"What?" Lucina exclaimed, flustered. "You can't possibly–!"

"Hey, this was your idea, Luce. You can't back out now."

"I can't dance."

"Have you ever tried?" he rebutted. She shook her head. "look at it this way: my mother learned how to fight by applying what she knew about dancing into swordplay. Why not try the inverse?"

"Apply what I know about sword fighting to dancing?"

"Right."

"But...why me?"

 _Because I love you,_  he wanted to say, but now was not the time. Like the heron princess in the story, Lucina would never be truly happy with him, or anyone, unless she completed her mission. His feelings for her were strong enough for him to want her to be happy first and foremost. "Because I don't see any other lovely ladies around. Do you?"

Lucina sighed deeply and buried her face in her hands. "You're not going to change your mind are you?"

"Nope."

She lifted her head and, admitting defeat, took his extended hand. With a broad grin, he pulled her to her feet.

"I guess I can humor you. Just this once."


	10. Gone Purrfectly Wrong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Inigo finds himself surrounded by girls... Only he never imagined it would be like this.
> 
> (Note: This is the first of four very... weird prompts. Blame it on the fact that the original list was probably meant for fanart.)

Lucina didn't know why she was standing outside his tent.

...Well, okay, she did, but she was still trying to figuring out what to do.

 _I shouldn't have lost my temper with Inigo. He works on my nerves sometimes, but I know he means well. I_ should _go apologize...I actually kind of miss having him badger me about my smile..._

Steeling her resolve, she called out, "Um...Inigo? Are you in there?"

"Lucina?! Is that you?"

"I was just wondering if we can talk for a moment."

There was a bit of fumbling from inside. "For a moment? Oh sure. Um...you can come in. I think. Just...uh, mind the mess."

Frowning, Lucina did so. As soon as she entered she noticed there was definitely something fishy going on. Then there were several plants and other random items lying on the cot with an open book and a few sheets of loose paper and Inigo had his hands over his ears.

"Why are you covering your ears?" she asked, rather concerned for him.

"It's...just a little, uh discomfort." Inigo laughed nervously, "It'll go away soon and I can hear you just fine. What did you want to talk about?"

Torn between wanting to drag him off to Aunt Lissa to treat this "discomfort" and wanting to apologize to him as she intended, she was spared the need to make a choice because she caught sight of something very interesting behind the mercenary. Something that was admittedly much more troubling than an apology or a bit of discomfort.

"Is that a  _tail_?"

"Huh?" Confused, Inigo turned around to look behind him. "Oh gods, I have a tail!" He removed his hands from his head, revealing to Lucina why he was covering them. Instead of having regular human ears he had a pair of triangular, white cat ears.

Stunned, Lucina looked at the objects on the cot again and the realization dawned on her. "What kind of hex where you trying to cast?" she groaned, completely forgetting what she had originally came to his tent for. "No, wait.  _Why_  were you even trying to cast a hex in the first place?"

"Dad said something about what a shame it was for me to have so much potential in cursing and not use it. I just...wanted to impress him, I guess." Sighing, he placed his hands back over his ears, his tail waving around behind him.

"Shall I go find your father?" Lucina asked. While she didn't want to spoil his surprise by getting Henry, she didn't trust the  _other_  curse practicer in camp. Tharja would like nothing better than to place every malign curse known to mankind on Lucina and her brother.

"You will?" The relief in those two words were evident,"thanks. I owe you one." Just as he said this, there was a  _pop_  and in the place where the mercenary had stood was pile of clothes and something small moving around in circles underneath.

"Meow?"

Lucina wanted to smack herself. Things have apparently gotten a little more troublesome.

"On second thought," She picked up the fluffy white kitten that had crawled out from under the pile of clothes, "I think I'll just take you to him."

She was just about to leave the tent before she thought of something important. She doubled back to toss Inigo's clothing into a rucksack that she swung over her shoulder.

She took a looks outside the tent flap to make sure the cost was clear. Seeing that it was, she took a step outside and...

"Lucy, hey Lucy!"

Things really didn't seem to be going well for her (or Inigo) today. Cynthia had excitedly bounded over to her.

"Hello Cynthia."

"Finally I found you!" the young pegasus knight said, "so I was thinking about a new pose you could try out, you know, to raise morale and all that, and–" She stopped mid-rant when she noticed the rather sullen looking kitten in the princess's arms. "Aww! How cute!" she cooed, flattening his ears as she rubbed his head. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Um...boy."

In a flash, Inigo was snatched out of Lucina's hands. "Where did you find him?" Cynthia asked, holding kitten-Inigo in one arm while petting him with the other.

"Well...you see..."

"Cynthia, Lucina!"

Lucina groaned inwardly. A lone Cynthia was one thing, but shaking off Cynthia, Severa  _and_  Kjelle? That would be much more challenging.

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"Are either of you up for a spar? The rest of these idiots are too soft."

"Well...I'd love to, Kjelle," Lucina said hurriedly, "but I'm kind of busy right now..."

"What's that?" Severa asked, catching sight of Inigo. Cynthia held the kitten that was actually Inigo out to the newcomers.

"A cat Lucy found. Isn't he cute?"

Kjelle took one look and immediately dismissed him. She was never really into cute things. "...If you think so."

"He's not rabid, is he?" Severa asked distastefully despite doing a terrible job at hiding how much she  _did_  think so.

" _No_."

"Oh, well..." Severa reached out to stroke Inigo between his ears. "I guess he is pretty cute."

"What are you guys doing? Huddled together like that."

Oh lovely. Noire and Nah had decided to join them now.

"Lucina found a kitty!" Cynthia explained again.

Inigo began to squirm under Nah and Noire's gazes. Nah was a manakete and Noire was no stranger to curses. Would either of them recognize that it was actually him under one? His fears proved to be baseless and the archer and half-human manakete began to  _aww_  over him with Cynthia.

For once, he had girls fawning over him and he couldn't even enjoy it properly because he was being treated like a pet.  _Now_  he knows why Yarne hates it so much when people touch his ears. He liked it better when it was just Lucina.

"What are you going to do with him?" Noire asked, "Mother said she was going to teach me how to skin a cat without curses, so you know...if you aren't going to keep him, can I?"

Upon hearing this, sheer horror flooded over both Lucina and Inigo. Inigo began struggling against Cynthia, clawing the pegasus knight in his panic, desperate to get as far away from Noire as possible. Lucina reached out to take Inigo back from Cynthia and held him close to her chest rather protectively. " _No one_  is going to skin him, Noire. I was going to take him to Henry and...find out where his mother is so I can take him home...yes, that's it Have you seen him? Henry, that is."

"Really now?" Nah glared up at her. "You're a terrible liar, Lucina. What are you  _really_  up to?"

Seeing there was no point in telling anything but the truth with Nah and her intent detecting nose around, Lucina conceded. "This is actually Inigo. I don't know what happened, but...a curse turned him into a cat."

There was silence as the other five girls processed this information. Inigo flattened his ears, knowing he will never be able to live this down.

"Inigo? ...Curse?  _Inigo_?" Lucina wasn't quite sure whether the disbelief in their voices came from the fact that Noire had just considered skinning one of their friends with Tharja  _or_  that Inigo somehow managed to turned himself into a cat  _or_  that they had shamelessly gushed over the the most notorious womanizer in camp. Even if said womanizer was in the form of a fluffy kitten at the time.

"That's I was looking for Henry," Lucina explained, "So, you know...we can fix this."

"Are you sure?" Nah asked jokingly, "I kind of like him better in this form. He's less flirty this way."

Kjelle failed to stifle her agreeing laughter.

Rolling her eyes, Lucina replied, "we're at war here and we need all the fighters we can get. Do any of you know where Henry might be?"

"Um..." Noire spoke up timidly, "I saw him dragging a Risen corpse out into the forest..."

"That's disgusting," Severa said flatly, before breaking into a sly smile. "But are you sure you even need him?"

"What do you mean?" Lucina asked, puzzled, "are you saying I should take him to Tharja? You know she hates me."

"No," Cynthia replied with a teasing smirk, "I think Severa's saying all Inigo might need is a kiss from a princess." Severa shot the other twin-tailed red-head a glare.

Lucina blushed and spluttered, "W-what? T-that's completely absurd! And it's only in fairy tales! There's no way it would work for real!" Inigo wished she could at least give it a try anyway. "No, I'm going to find Henry." Embarrassed, she thanked Noire before running off with her face red.

The five girls stayed where they were for a moment longer.

"...She likes him doesn't she?"

Four affirmative murmurs followed Cynthia's question.

"I don't know what she sees in him."

"The princess and the philanderer. How cute."


	11. Shattered Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because watching another person sacrifice themselves to save him is his worst fear.

The malice in the air and overwhelming presence despair was what alerted him to Grima's presence long before the dragon made itself known though its roar.

Inigo was sprinting though a suspiciously empty corridor in Ylisstol Castle, searching for the rest of his friends, when Grima tore down the exterior wall. Staggering into the opposite wall, he tightened his grip on his sword as he tried to steady himself as Grima stared down at him. He knew he couldn't face the fell dragon head on and expect to live to tell the tale, but he would rather die with a weapon in hand than simply lying down and accepting defeat.

"Grima!" Lucina suddenly appeared from the opposite side of the hallway, Falchion drawn and pointed at the dragon. "Leave him be!  _I'm_  the one you want aren't I? Well, here I am!"

What was she  _doing_? She was the the last of Ylisse's royal family, the last wielder of Falchion and the only person who could perform the Awakening. How could they save this world if she was lost?

Grima shifted its deliberation from the mercenary and onto the princess. " _Just like your halfwit of a father,_ " it spoke in a voice that sent chills down Inigo's spine. He's never heard the dragon speak before, never considered the possibility, and found it much more abominable than its roars due to the fact that it sounded almost human. " _The divine dragon's champions are foolhardy if nothing else. Very well then, child of Naga; if you insist on playing the hero, then I will kill you first._ "

Perhaps he should have shouted at Grima to take him instead or maybe even dart forward to push her out of the way and take the blow for himself, but neither his voice nor his legs seemed to want to obey him.

Dark spikes rose from the ground around Lucina and there was a loud explosion. Inigo instinctively covered his eyes and ducked his head to protect himself. When the dust and rubble settled down, the corridor was in complete shatters and Lucina was nowhere to be seen.

Grima turned one of it's many scarlet eyes on him.  _"The Exalted line ends with her. I will allow you to live this time, little human. No matter, it won't be long before you join her in the afterworld._ " With these parting words, it left as abruptly as it appeared. Shock kept him frozen in place, but he forced himself to recover and half ran, half stumbled over to where the princess had been standing.

"Lucina!" He found her half-buried under a pile of debris and still bleeding from Grima's attack. Lucina, who dealt with her father's death and the disappearances of her mother and brother with iron resolve and stepped up to lead when they needed a leader the most, had never looked so fragile, reminding him that she was as human as the rest of them.  _No...please gods, no...she's not dead. She_ can't _be dead. I already lost Mother and Father, I can't lose her too..._

Inigo cleared the debris away enough to move her away from the wreckage. Gently placing her on the floor again but keeping her upright with an arm behind her shoulders, he noticed that she was still breathing, but just barely.

She opened her eyes, the brand so clearly visible in her left. "In...Inigo? Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here," he replied softly, "I'll get you a healer, so save your strength."

"No...it's over for me..."

"Don't say that." Shaking his head, Inigo looked around desperately for Brady. Where was he? Or Laurent, for that matter. Or Cynthia. Or...dammit, someone,  _anyone_  with a staff! Lucina couldn't die! She just...couldn't. His mother and father already had died protecting him, he didn't want to be the cause of her death as well.

But no one else was there. He couldn't even hear the sounds of battle that should have been occurring on the courtyard and lower floors anymore. It was as though only the two of them were left in this gods forsaken world. Lucina reached up to weakly touch the hand on her shoulder.

"Take Falchion and summon Naga like we planned," she breathed, "go back in time and save this world... _please_."

"I..." He was crying now. Gods dammit, he never wanted her to see him like this. "I will, Lucina...I promise. I will." He didn't know how much he believed his words, didn't know how much of it he truly meant and how much was said only so she could die with some scintilla of hope.

"Good," she closed her eyes with a smile, "I believe in you."

Her hand slipped and fell limply by her side.

* * *

"Inigo?  _Inigo_! Wake up!"

He woke up in a cold sweat in his tent. Someone was standing over and roughly shaking him. Blinking the sleep and tears out of this eyes, it took him a while to recognize who it was.

"Lucina?" Images from his nightmares flashed before his eyes – being cornered by Grima, Lucina saving him by drawing Grima's attention onto herself, Lucina dying in his arms while there was nothing he could do to save her. "Oh, gods...Lucina. You're alive..."

"Of course I am," she said, sounding confused. "Are you..." she shook her head, "stupid question. Of course you're not alright."

"Can I hold you for a moment, my love?" he whispered, inwardly hating himself for sounding so pathetic because of nightmare.

"What? Oh...of course." She lay down next to him and, after a bit of turning, decided that she was the most comfortable in a position with her back to him. He couldn't see her face like this, but it didn't matter to him at the moment. Burying his face into her hair by the nape of her neck and breathing in her scent was enough to assure him that she was there, alive and safe in his arms.

Lucina rubbed circles on the back of his hands comfortingly. "Do you want to talk about it?" Judging by his earlier words to her, she could have guessed what he was dreaming about, but didn't dare say it aloud.

"I dreamt I lost you forever." He confessed. "Grima was there." He felt her shudder against him at the name of the fell dragon. "It had me cornered. You showed up, but..."

She brought one of his hands to her lips and kissed it. "It was only a dream, Inigo," she assured him, "don't worry. I promise to remain by your side as long as you need me."

 _I know..._  he thought to himself.  _I'm no knight Lucina, but I swear I will protect you with my life. No one is going to die because of me ever again._


	12. In the Morning Sun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exalt!Inigo and Dancer!Lucina have a moment in an era of peace. (Role-reversal/Future Past AU)

It was a lovely morning in Ylisse. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the castle, including the one where the haildom's young ruler was dozing atop a pile of paperwork. Unfortunately for him, as lovely as the morning was, it did not deem it appropriate that the exalt sleep his day away, no matter how tired (or bored) he was from staying up nearly all night trying to go though the many stacks of papers that were heaped neatly on his desk.

A loud knock on the door jolted the young man awake. He was momentarily confused by the sunlight lighting up his deary study – wasn't the only source of light in this room emitting from the now completely burnt out candle on his desk five seconds ago? – before hastily plucking the parchment that was stuck to his face and told his visitor to come in.

"You have a visitor, milord," a soldier reported with a respectful bow of his head, "shall I let her in?"

"Her?" Knowing Cynthia and Severa had an occasionally annoying tendency to barge into his workspace without so much as a knock, he wondered who it could be. "Oh, yes. Please do."

The soldier was just about to bow out of the room before he hesitantly spoke again while pointing to his left cheek. "Pardon my frankness sire, but you have an ink stain right here."

The blue-haired man sighed and rubbed his eyes, hoping his visitor wasn't here to discuss something regarding one of the many,  _many_  documents because, odds are, he hadn't even got around reading it.

"Hello Inigo."

"Lucina!" Any drowsiness he still felt vanished at once. Five years ago, he would've asked himself why just the sight of her could brighten up his day, but now that he was older and wiser (comparatively, at least), he knew why.

She held up the bouquet of Ylissian irises she was holding. "Cynthia told me you've been swamped with paperwork. I thought I could bring you something to help brighten up your day."

"Thank you," he took the flowers from her, holding them close enough for him to breathe in their fragments. He just wished he had something to keep them in as nearly all the ceramic vases in the castle had been shattered during the war. "Take a seat," he invited, carefully placing the flowers atop the papers he was using as a pillow a minute ago, "make yourself comfortable."

"But won't I be intruding on your work?"

"Not at all," he assured her, "to be honest, I think I could use a respite."

"In that case..." She sat down in the chair opposite his that was usually occupied by officials leading the various reconstructions taking place in Ylisse. They sat there for a while, staring at each other, before Inigo decided to break the ice with the girl in the way he knew best.

"Is it just me or have you gotten lovelier since the day we last met? You certainly are a sight for sore eyes."

"I see the silver has yet to be rubbed off your tongue, your highness," Lucina observed dryly. She gave the contents of his desk a one over, "although you may not be jesting about the sore eyes."

"That I am not," he replied, "but in all seriousness, it  _is_  nice to see you. How have things been going for you?"

"I've been good. Not much has changed since our last meeting," she answered, but the bright smile she was wearing implied it was an understatement.

"That's it? No juicy details?" Inigo joked, "it must be something particularly special if you're practically glowing."

She laughed, "Well... you're right about that. Do you remember me telling you about the theater my mother dreamed of building?"

"With fly lofts and trapdoors and a huge proscenium arch? Yes, I remember."

"Brady and I pooled our money together," she was practically bursting with excitement now as she spoke of Olivia's dream theater, "and we think we have enough to build it!"

"Wow Lucina. I'm..." he breathed. One of the best things about bringing peace back into the world was watching his friends fulfill the life dreams they never could have with Grima around. Hearing that Lucina will be fulfilling hers was worth killing a thousand fell dragons alone. As for him, before he came into possession of Falchion, he's never considered that he would one day have to run an entire country. He was always willing to take up arms in defense of his realm, not unlike his father before him, but actually ruling? His younger brother Morgan had always seemed to be the better prince for the task; when Inigo was shyly hiding behind their mother's skirts, Morgan was out making friends with everybody and anybody. But Morgan wasn't here so the task of ruling Ylisse in the light of the Grima's defeat fell into Inigo's lap as a result.

Being the Exalt certainly wasn't his childhood ambition, but he will do it for the sake of Ylisse and all those who have been there for him and supported him unconditionally when he first found himself being unexpectedly thrust into the responsibilities of leadership. "I'm really happy for you. Congratulations. Is it too early to be reserving a ticket for your grand opening?"

"I'll be sure to set one aside for you when the time comes." She gazed at him with something that he might have mistaken for affection, "but enough about me. How has overseeing the rebuilding been going for you?"

"The rebuilding itself has been going quite well if I may say so," he replied honestly, gesturing towards all the paperwork, "but I haven't been able to get out at all. It's not that I don't trust Cynthia and her pegasus knights with my safety, but I kind of miss swinging a sword for defense instead of being encircled by pegasi and lances."

"I thought being surrounded by the fairer sex would be the last thing you would complain about," Lucina pointed out with a humorous gleam in her eyes. "and it's not like you'll run out of bodyguards anytime soon. I hear Cynthia's been getting more applications than she could manage."

"A year ago, maybe," Inigo replied, "but now that I'm over it, it's almost kind of irritating."

Lucina raised an eyebrow, "are you saying Ylisse's  _infamous_  womanizer of a prince is retiring?"

"Yes, Lucina. That's exactly what I'm saying," he confirmed with an eye roll, "When I smile at girls these days, they'll smile back without the need of a terrible pickup line. That alone is good enough for me. Besides, I'm the Exalt now, I shouldn't be fooling around anymore."

"Well...good for you," she sounded impressed that he had given so much thought and effort in rectifying that part of himself, "the philandering isn't going to win you any respect from–hey,  _wait a minute_ ," she scrutinized him suspiciously, "if you gave up on the womanizing, then why did you just flirt with  _me_  today?"

Inigo froze. Oh gods, he had really screwed up with that hadn't he? He sighed and ran a hand though his hair. "Well, about that... Lucina, there's something I have to confess." Was he really doing this? "I was utterly terrified for you when you and the others went to Plegia." Yes, he was doing this.

Lucina tilted her head to one side, not seeing where this was going.

"I worried about the others yes, but  _you_  were the one I was the most afraid for. I hadn't had any time to think about why back then, but I've had plenty of time recently and now... I think I know why."

"...Why?" she asked quietly.

"Lucina, I..." He swallowed. There was no backing out now. "I'm in love with you." There, he said it. Now all he had to do was wait for her response. About a hundred different scenarios – all of which ended with her rejecting him – popped up in his mind in rapid succession.

"Really?" was her disbelieving murmur, "You're not just... saying that?"

"No," he replied firmly, "I'm completely serious, Lucina. I'd understand if you don't feel the same way about me. I mean, this  _is_  rather sudden, I know. No matter how you feel about me, I will always be your friend. That I can promise."

Silence fell across the room again. Lucina leaned forward and took his hands.

"I've...actually liked you for quite some time now," she admitted at least, cheeks pink and her lips forming a smile, "but I thought the prince of Ylisse wouldn't want to associate himself with a common dancer girl. That and I never would've thought that you would ever want to settle down with one woman."

"I think I'm going to pretend I didn't hear the last part," Inigo muttered with a sigh, but the truth was, if he were to die right now, he would die a very happy man. "And give yourself some credit; you're not a 'common dancer girl', not any more. I may have been the one to land the final blow on Grima, but I couldn't have done it without you or any of the others. I'd say one of the Twelve Heroes is more than able to stand on equal footing with a prince." He smirked, "but if anyone is foolish enough to imply otherwise, they'll find out that than fourteen months behind a desk has not dulled my skills with a blade one bit." She grinned back at him despite herself. "So what do you say, Lucina? Once things settle down, will you give me a chance?"

"I..." She suddenly licked her thumb and reached out to rub his cheek with it. He could have sworn electricity had sparked where their skin made contact. "Sorry," she apologized when she pulled her hand away again, "you had an ink stain there."

"Thanks." He awkwardly touched the place where her hand had been. She was blushing and he was fairly certain that so was he.

"And yes," was Lucina's reply to his proposal, "I will give you a chance, but I should warn you: stray from me once and it's over."

"Are those your terms? Very well, I agree to them."

"'Terms'?" she repeated with some amusement, "shall we shake on it to make it official?"

"No, I was thinking we should seal the deal with this," He leaned over his desk, sending for than a few sheets of paper flying as he did so, and gently brushed his lips against her's. When he pulled away, he was slightly amused to see that the normally stoic dancer was almost red enough to rival Gules. "Deal?"

"Inigo...you...sometimes you can the most  _infuriating_  man I have ever known," she told him, shaking her head, but there was no genuine anger in her voice and features. He simply smiled back like a child playing innocent despite having been caught misbehaving. "but yes, it's a deal. You have one chance. Don't blow it."

"I don't intend to," he laughed, "but thank you. Hearing that is just the kind of incentive I need to finish all this paperwork!" But when he looked at all the papers on his desk and floor again, his vigor deflated "...Oh gods that  _is_  a lot of paperwork isn't it?." Lucina laughed and they both stood to gather the scattered documents.

"I'll wait as long as it takes," she promised when she handed him the last of the fallen papers, "besides, I still have a theater to build don't I?"

"Of course," Inigo agreed. She, and Olivia before her, has wanted this theater for years. Now that it was finally within her grasp, he didn't want her to hold back on his account. "I don't see the peace being shattered anytime soon. We'll have plenty of time after taking care our own matters."

"Yes Inigo, we–"

The study door was suddenly burst open accompanied by a loud and enthusiastic "Heya Inigo!"

Gritting his teeth, Inigo decided that Cynthia and Severa had an  _always_  annoying tendency to barge into his workspace without so much as a knock.

"We just came to remind you–  _Lucy_? What are you doing here?"

Taking a step back, as if trying to put as much distance between from herself and Inigo with that one action as possible, only to awkwardly stumble back into the chair she was occupying before, Lucina gave the two knights a nod, "Good morning Cynthia, Severa."

"Hello Lucina," Severa gave Lucina an odd look before speaking to Inigo, "sorry about the interruption; it wasn't that important anyway. Come on Cynthia," the mercenary turned pegasus knight whispered "let's give them their alone time, shall we?" while nudging her commander back out the door and taking care to close it completely behind them.

There was another silence following the two pegasus knights' departure.

"The entire castle's going to know by nightfall won't it?"

"Not even by nightfall Lucina, not even..."


	13. Comfort's Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The future is discussed and a mask is drowned.

Lucina stood under a tree watching the steam rise from the hot spring and into the sky in wonder. She was wearing the brand patterned yukata the merchants provided for her to wear during her stay in the Bathrealms and in her hands was the wood replica of her mask she had purchased from the souvenir shop.

"Dueling with unpleasant thoughts, are we?"

She had been so caught up in her thoughts – the relaxed and strangely nostalgic atmosphere of the hot springs didn't help her vigilance – she hadn't noticed Inigo had come up behind her. When she turned to face him however, she was momentarily taken aback by the fact that he was also wearing a yukata, though it was less colorfully patterned than her's. When he saw her expression, he winked, like there was some joke she wasn't aware of, and asked, "like what you see, Luce? I wore it just for you, you know." He paused to take in her appearance, "you're a lovely sight yourself if I may say so."

Lucina blushed at the complement and looked back at the item in her hands. Inigo followed her gaze.

"Is that...?"

"It is," she held out the mask, "I saw it in a souvenir shop. It's just a wood replica; I lost the real one in Ylisstol."

"So you bought it as a replacement?"

"Perhaps," she replied, "I may be in need of it soon."

Inigo frowned, "why's that?"

"I was able to have a talk with my mother during the battle," Lucina said, "she asked me about the mask as well and I told her I intend to live out my days in shadow if I were to stay in this time." This mask still felt brittle in her hands in comparison to her first one. "But look, I've haven't even had it for a day and it's already falling apart in my hands... I fear that it may not be able to conceal my loneliness in the coming years."

Inigo was silent as he contemplated her words. He finally let out a little  _heh_  when he finished. When Lucina looked at him questioningly, he explained, "I actually had an opportunity to talk to Robin as well. I told her as much as I love my parents, I thought it best to leave once this was all over. It's only a matter of time before their real son is born, and you know what she said to me?"

"What did she say?" Lucina asked, curious.

" _After_  she told me in very explicit details what she would do to me if I ever mistreat you in any way, She told me I could come back whenever I'd like," he smiled, "I imagine she said something of that ilk to you?"

"She did," Lucina nodded. Hours after they had been spoken, her mother's words still made her heart clench. "I told her my presence by her side would cause confusion and dissent. After all, I have the brand don't I? Mother said she could think of something that will let me stay with her."

"There's a 'but' isn't there?" Inigo asked.

"You know me too well," she muttered, shaking her head, "I am the last person to doubt her tactical ability Inigo, but I don't want her to go though so much trouble for me, not when she's already given me so much since we were reunited... even though she isn't my real mother." Her real mother was Grima and as far as Lucina was concerned, her real mother was dead. Thinking of her real mother's fate made her think of her moment of weakness after the disastrous events in Plegia Castle, "even though there were times where I didn't deserve it..."

It wasn't until she felt him move to envelope her in a hug, did she realize that she was crying. She had wanted to when she first heard Robin's dedication to her plan, but for the sake of sparing her mother more worry, she had simply smiled and thanked her for everything she's done for her. She had been fine when she was in the springs with the other girls, fine while trying to hide her amusement when hearing Severa oscillate between complaining about and admiring her mother, fine when trying to comb out a particularly stubborn tangle in Nah's hair, but now everything was just spilling out of her and she couldn't stop herself.

Inigo simply held her as she cried her heart out, running his fingers soothingly through her hair. It wasn't until her sobs have finally died down did he ask, "all better now?"

She pulled away, wiping the last of the tears off her face as she did so. "I'm sorry, Inigo," she apologized, "I don't know what's gotten into me."

"Don't apologize," he replied, gently wiping away a stray tear she had missed, "I'd rather you let the tears out now and smile for real than see you trying to keep a fake one on for the sake of appearances."

She offered him a weak smile and, breathing out a small "thank you," leaned up to kiss him.

He responded to this kiss as he usually did, but she felt the mask being taken from her while she was distracted, followed by a sudden  _splash_. Lucina pulled away and saw her mask floating in the spring behind her. When she looked back at Inigo, he was looking very pleased with himself.

"Before you start getting angry," he began, "I just want to say you don't need that mask to conceal your loneliness once this is all over, you know?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, baffled and a little peeved.

"Did I not promise to be the sword at your side for good and all?" Inigo asked with a smile, "even if you have to live the rest of your days in shadow, Lucina, you won't be alone. I'll be right beside you every step of the way. Perhaps neither of us will be able to stay with our parents, but at least we'll have each other. So... no more thoughts about being lonely for both of us, okay?"

"I..." she struggled to find something to say as his words had left her speechless. "I love you, Inigo," she decided at last, "I don't think I say it often enough."

He chuckled and brought her closer to him, burying his face into her hair. "I used to throw those words so carelessly around, Luce, but when I say that I love you too, I really mean it. Believe me."

Content to remain in his embrace for the rest of the night if time and circumstance allowed it, Lucina watched the wooden mask float feebly in the spring for a moment longer before finally sinking into its depths. "I believe you."


	14. Unspoken Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Olivia tries to give Inigo some _better_ advice on talking to girls.

Five minutes after a conversation with her uncharacteristically sombre husband, Olivia found her way to the medical tent in concern. The person who she was searching for was still there, laying on one of the cots with one neatly bandaged leg stretched out and the other lightly kicking the ground below. When he heard her come in, he sat up, though still keeping his injured leg outstretched.

"Mother?"

Olivia rushed to her son's side. "Are you alright?" she asked, "Henry told me you hurt your leg in battle today."

"I'm fine," Inigo replied with a shrug, "Brady patched me up. He said I'll be as good as new in no time." Even as he said this, he too seemed unusually melancholic. Sighing, the rose-haired dancer gently ruffled his hair, the same color as his father's.

"Are you still thinking about what happened between you and Henry?" she asked gently. His injury wasn't the only thing that prompted her worry. "He was really worried about you."

"He told you?" Inigo sighed, "I'm not surprised. He could never seem to keep anything a secret from you."

Olivia laughed lightly, "I don't think that Henry is bad at keeping secrets from me," she said, "It's more like the fact that he is incredibly truthful most of the time  _and_  that it's pretty easy to tell when something is troubling him."

The tips of Inigo's lips twitched, as if he was trying not to laugh at his father's expense. "Fair enough, Mother." He shook his head. "But no...I'm not really thinking about that...well, actually I am, but something else too."

"Is that so?" Olivia raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to talk? I am your mother. Maybe I can help."

There was a brief flash of emotion in Inigo's eyes. "You used to do this back in my time too," he said quietly, "Whenever something was troubling me, you would offer to talk."

"Oh." Though she already accepted him as her child, Olivia was still getting used to the idea that she has raised, or rather,  _will raise_ , him in the future.

"You know what happened between me and father," Inigo began, "but a few days ago, Lucina said nearly the same thing to me."

"Lucina?" Olivia thought of Robin's navy-haired daughter. The princess from the future was so driven and serious to a fault, Olivia could imagine that she would be easily annoyed by Inigo's perpetual cheeriness.

"...I just wanted to see her smile again, just as she used to..." by this point, Inigo seemed to be off in his own little world. Still, Olivia listened to every word that came out of his mouth. He spoke so fondly of her, so different from how he usually talked about the random village maids he attempted to woo, that she started to wonder.

"...but I guess with everything weighing down on her, it wasn't meant to be."

"Tell me, Inigo," the dancer began timidly, knowing she was about in step in very dangerous waters, "do you...love her?"

Inigo didn't reply at once.

"Yes," he said softly, the melancholy look becoming one of wistful longing, "I've always liked her since the day we met." He smiled as he recalled the memory. "It was the first time you and Father took me to Castle Ylisse. I got lost and she helped me find you. I haven't told you that story yet, have I?"

"No, you haven't," Olivia shook her head. She was curious to know what happened in that particular day in his life, but now wasn't the time. Then she frowned when she thought of something. "But wait... if you always liked Lucina, then why do you flirt so much with other women?"

"Well...it started out with me taking your advice," Olivia cringed at the thought of that. When the present day version of Inigo is born, she will definitely  _not_  mention Maribelle's 'shock therapy' idea to him.  _Ever_. "I thought if I can learn to talk to other girls, then maybe one day I'll be brave enough to tell her how I feel, but when I got older I realized... even though she's always treated me as an equal, she's still  _royalty_ and I'm...not. She deserves so much better than a sellsword." Inigo sighed again, almost deeply enough to rival one of Cordelia's. "After that, I just kept on flirting, hoping it was just a phase I'll get over one day, but nope. My feelings for her haven't changed. If anything, they only got stronger."

"Oh Inigo," Olivia had no idea what to make of this newest revelation. Seeing the sadness in her son's eyes brought her pain too. She wanted to make him feel better, and, being close friends with Lucina's mother, she thinks she knows how to begin. "But you know what? I think you're forgetting a very crucial detail."

"I am?"

"Ylissian nobles didn't approve of Lucina's mother at first, you know?" Olivia said in a matter-of-fact tone. It was a fairly well known fact among the Shepherds that were present during the wedding, so she doesn't think Robin would be angry at her for telling this to Inigo. "They argued that she was an amnesiac with no memory of who she was before Chrom found her. For all they knew, she could have been a spy or a criminal from another country."

"Um... okay?" He wasn't getting the point she wanted to make.

"But it didn't stop Chrom from marrying Robin did it?" She smiled encouragingly and hoped the advice she was about to give him wouldn't turn out the same why as the one her future self did before, "If Lucina is anything like her father, she won't care if you were a mercenary or the son of a noble, so don't let her titles and heritage scare you into hiding your feelings. Isn't it better to tell her and be rejected than stay silent and wonder what could have been?"

Inigo gazed down at his hands. "Perhaps," he said, "but if she rejects me, I imagine a good cry and a day of sulking won't be able to fix it."

 _Yes that is true_ , Olivia thought. The last thing she wanted to see was a broken heart, but she didn't want him to miss out on this chance either. "Falling in love with someone will always put your heart in a vulnerable place," she said carefully. "Heartbreak will always be a risk, but ask yourself: is she worth that risk?"

There was anouther moment of silence as Inigo mulled over her words. What he did next was a surprise, but not an unpleasant one. He reached out and hugged her. Briefly stunned, but recovering quickly, Olivia hugged him back.

"Yes," he said with a grin when he pulled back, but still holding her shoulders. "Yes, she is worth it. I  _will_  tell her, but not until this war is over. Thank you, Mother."

"Anytime sweetheart," It felt so strange to give her son advice concerning matters of the heart before she's even had the opportunity to hold him as a baby. Regardless, it was still gratifying to know that she could be here for him, especially knowing that in some other time she had left him to fend for himself. She felt happy by making him happy. Is this what it feels like to be a mother? She didn't give birth to him, but she knew in her heart that she would fight anyone like an angered grizzly bear if they intended to do him harm. If it was, then this was a feeling she could get used to.

Seeing that her son was back to his usual disposition, Olivia giggled and lightly tousled his hair again. "After all, if do you marry Lucina one day, I will become sisters with my best friend!"

" _Mom!_ "

"Teehee... Sorry. I guess it  _is_  a little too early to be thinking of that, isn't it?"


	15. Treasured Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your friendly neighborhood tactician would like to remind everyone that training fields are for _training_. - Robin

The war with Valm was over, but there was still a dark threat looming before them. The Shepherds had returned to Ylisstol to prepare for the upcoming war with the fell dragon and to search for the fifth and final gemstone Sable.

Knowing that Grima was slowly gaining power in this era had put the time travelers (including Morgan even though he remembered nothing of their dire future) on edge to the point of each of them (including Yarne, who had approached Kjelle for her assistance) undertaking a rigorous training schedule of their own that would have put Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour to shame just to reassure themselves of their skills. Everything rested on this. Either they failed or they succeeded and they all knew failure must not be an option.

One morning found Lucina and Inigo in one of the training fields with their practice swords drawn. It was still early, the sun had just barely risen, but both were breathing heavily and their shirts soaked through with sweat, indicating that they're been there for quite some time.

Against someone who didn't know Inigo's techniques, the sheer unpredictability of his quick, flighty movements taught to him by a professional dancer rather than an experienced swordsman would have seen his enemy defeated in seconds. Lucina, however, was not 'someone'. She has watched him fight many times over, both beside him in battle and against him in training. On the other hand, what advantage she had in knowing his tricks was voided by the fact that he also knew  _hers_  just as well.

They matched each others strikes, blow for blow, until Lucina realized his last attack had left a gap in his defenses. They've been sparring for a long time now and it was starting to show. Seizing this chance, she moved forward to strike with a new technique she had been working on with her mother. She hasn't had a chance to try it out with an opponent before, so between this and becoming aware of her own fatigue, she knew she was making a gamble. Still, it was better for her to first try it during a practice bout with Inigo, who would never hurt her intentionally if she  _did_  mess up, then in an actual battle where there would be much more at stake.

Inigo's weapon flew out of his hands and he quickly found himself on the ground with the tip of a practice sword at his throat as the skill's trademark petals drifted down upon him and disappeared before they touched the ground.

"I yield milady," Inigo groaned, "there's nothing like starting the day off with getting knocked flat on my back."

She moved her weapon away from him. "Sorry. I hope I didn't hurt you."

He propped himself up on his left hand and used the right to rub the back of his head. "Nothing permanent. Don't worry, Luce, I can handle much more than this. I wasn't expecting that last attack. Did Robin teach it to you?"

Lucina grinned and nodded. "Yes. Though I have to admit such a skill is better suited for her and my brother. They are much more skilled in the magic arts than I am."

"Still, it was pretty impressive," Inigo complemented. "You win  _this_  one, but the next time we do this, don't think I'll be falling for it twice."

"We'll just have to see about that won't we?" She offered him a hand to help him back up. When he took it however, she only had a split second worth of a warning as he grinned mischievously before he gave it a tug, bringing her down to the ground on top of him. "Gya!"

He smirked and swiftly brushed their lips together. "But for now, I'll take that as my consolation prize," he whispered against her mouth. She blushed, but grinned down at him all the same.

Inigo huffed and laid down completely on the ground. There was some silence before he spoke. "This place brings back a lot of memories, huh?"

Lucina sat back on her heels, though she was still straddling him, and looked around. When she caught sight of a familiar pillar, she could almost see a young, silver haired boy cowering behind it. "Yes," she murmured, a small smile on her face. "This was where we first met, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Inigo laughed, "Now that I think back on it, it was a pretty eventful day. Remember how mad Laurent was when we made him drop his books?"

"He had them all stacked by author and subject too," Lucina added, nodding. "What about Cynthia's tea party?"

"How can I forget?" he made a face at the memory of the awful tasting 'tea' that was served. "I didn't realize until later that Gerome's been dumping everything in the plant pot when she wasn't looking." There was a pause as he thought of anouther case of mischief they got into that day. "We helped Owain hide Lon'qu's sword in the pegasus stable, didn't we? Whatever happened to it?"

"Sumia found it when she went to attend to her pegasus." she answered. Inigo had already departed for home when those events unfolded. "She saw the words 'I Love Lissa' on it so she figured it belonged to him."

Inigo snickered, "I wonder if Lon'qu started doing that now?"

Lucina giggled at the thought. The stoic swordsman was never the type for open displays of affection, but having his wife's name inscribed on his sword spoke volumes. She gently poked him in the ribs, "Its so hard to believe that you used to be so shy."

He did a horrible job at pretending to look offended. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean," Lucina replied with a cheeky grin. "Remember how your first reaction upon seeing a woman was to hide and shrink away? Not flirt with her until she slaps you?"

"Oh sure, remind me of that," Inigo retorted, running a hand though his hair. "I admit they intimidated me at first. A bit.  _You_  intimidated me the most, actually. Not Kjelle or Severa."

"Hm, really? I never thought of myself as intimidating before," she said thoughtfully, "but you don't think so anymore?"

In response, he grinned again and reversed their positions in one fluid motion so she was lying on the ground beneath him. "Not anymore, princess," he teased, "I'm a changed man."

"We've all changed, Inigo," Lucina replied, "maybe not for the better, but we've all changed."

He closed his eyes. "We have," he said more solemnly. "Everything had, when...when our parents died. They were war heroes. We grew up on tales on their struggles and accomplishments and thought they were invincible."

Lucina swallowed. She had thought so too, but now she knew better. She  _wished_  Chrom was invincible. Then he might have survived when he had been betrayed by his closest friend, whomever that friend was, as the story goes. Since coming back here, she's watched them all with suspicion, trying to figure out who was likely the one who betrayed him. That had been one of the reasons why she was so anxious to reunite with the people who came back in time with her. She couldn't trust anyone from this era, knowing one of them may one day stab her father in the back, and it was a terribly lonely feeling.

Inigo was staring at the pillar he hid behind during their first meeting again. "I wonder if our nightmares will go away if we succeeded?"

She recalled the night where she had heard him thrashing and muttering in his sleep when she walked by his tent. "There's no 'if', Inigo." she replied, "we have to."

"I want to protect this place as much as you do." Turning away from the pillar, he focusing his intense gaze back on her and lightly pressed his forehead against her's. "I have a lot of memories here...the clearest ones are the most unpleasant, but there were many happy, if fainter, ones too. Mostly ones shared with you and the others."

"You and the others were the reason why I've been able to hold strong for as long as I did," Lucina admitted in all honestly, "Without you guys, I doubt I would have been able to make it." He chuckled lightly.

"Funny. I could say the same thing about you."

"Mother always did say it's the invisible ties we forged and strengthened that makes us strong." she mused, reflecting on Robin's words during her first sea voyage, "There is only so much one person can do on their own, but together, we are so much stronger."

"I never thought of you as the philosophical type."

"I suppose it was unavoidable with having a tactician for a mother and brother," she joked in response.

"Well, whatever," Inigo said, "I'm just glad I had the chance to forge those ties with you; even if it  _was_  in an apocalyptic hellscape."

"I am too," she murmured in agreement. Somewhat hesitantly, she titled her head up to bridge the gap between their lips. A small part of her, the part that was always vigilant of her surroundings regardless of what she was doing, like feverishly kissing her lover, for instance, was aware that the sun was up now. How long have they been out here training? The others must be waking up now.

In fact...

" _Ahem_."

Lucina and Inigo broke apart and looked up from their positions on the ground to see a very irritated Kjelle glaring down at them in her training armor with a panting and red-faced Yarne behind her.

"Look guys, I'm really happy for you and all, but could you at  _least_  do all this mushy garbage where other people don't have to watch?"


	16. Despair and Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She takes the Hero King's name so she could save the world as he did.  
> Reality does not work that way.

Only pausing to give Laurent instructions to take charge for a moment, Lucina had disappeared once the premises was determined to be safe, or about as safe as anywhere in this godforsaken place can be. Though they managed to win the battle at the base of Mount Prism with minimal casualties, it was a pyrrhic victory at best.

Having left the main hall with the alter, where the survivors had gathered to rest and recover, Inigo paced down the halls of the sacred fortress in search for their disappeared leader. It was something he and his friends seemed to have formed an unspoken pact about some time ago. Lucina was always looking after everyone else, insisting the healers tend to others before accepting their help and making sure everyone had their share of rest and rations, so they have taken it upon themselves to look after her in return. Try as she might, she was only human and it wouldn't do anyone any good if she overworked herself to the point of collapse.

The sounds of quiet whispers were gone and the only sound he could hear were his footfalls against the tiles. Though Inigo had felt the warmth of the divine dragon's power when he first arrived at the sacred mountain, the shrine where the Awakening ceremony was first performed now felt as cold and lifeless to him as any other fortress.

Perhaps it's a blessing that he was never particularly religious. He was well aware of the prayers his friends that went unanswered.

Silently pushing the next door in the hallway open finally ended his search. Her head was bent and the Emblem with the four remaining jewels in her hands. Her hair was loose when she usually kept all but the shorter top layers tucked inside her shirt as she fought as Marth more often than she did as Lucina. Long hair may not be practical, but for some reason or another, she refused to cut it (in contrast to Cynthia, who had hacked off most of hers with her father's dagger when Sumia died).

He could only speculate on why she decided to take the Hero King's name as her own in order to fight back against Grima. Maybe she hoped that by taking the name of the legend that saved his world from an evil dragon twice, she could accomplish the same. Or perhaps she wanted to change herself from the helpless girl who couldn't do anything when her father died (ironic, he thought, because Lucina was the least helpless person he knew) to the hero this world needed to save them.

He coughed softly, though he was sure she was already aware of his presence. He wasn't exactly trying to be discreet when he opened the door.

She lifted her head, her eyes dull and unfocused. She was just like them. She had placed all her hopes in the Awakening ceremony and that hope was cruelly jerked out of her grasp when one of the five gemstones was shattered in the chaos of battle.

"Inigo," she said in the flat tone nearly everyone had adopted after the battle approaching Mount Prism. Despite his best efforts, Inigo couldn't get anyone to lighten up and he was aware of his own smiles becoming weaker after each fruitless attempt. That was part of the reason why he had left to look for Lucina, he didn't want to risk letting the others know his mask was slipping. "How are the others? Have the wounded been tended to?"

"Everyone's been taken care of," he reported without missing a beat. Some part of his mind reminded him that this was the first time in at least a year where he was alone with her. It was only natural though. She was their leader and was always needed someplace or another and didn't have the time to spare for her friends when she was responsible for the wellbeing of an entire country. "Brady's exhausted himself though. He's resting, under Laurent's orders."

"And yourself?"

"About as well as the others." His most serious injury was the a new burn scar he acquired due to rushing blindly at a Risen mage with a fire tome. The mage in question had been aiming for Yarne (who was busy dragging a wounded Owain out of harm's way at the time) and as soon as he noticed this, any sense of self-preservation seemed to have vanished. He had wondered before if this suicidal disregard for his own life on the battlefield was something he inherited from his father. If it was, then he was glad that it was at least out of instinct to protect his friends rather than for the sake of enjoying the bloodshed.

If Laurent hadn't noticed his burn before he could retreat somewhere to patch up his own wounds in solitude, he likely wouldn't have approached Brady for a healing at all. After all, Owain nearly died, Minerva's wing was burned, disrupting her flight patterns and forcing Gerome to dismount and fight on foot for a good portion of the battle for her sake, and it was only dumb luck that Noire managed to keep the Risen approaching her at bay when she had twisted her ankle until help arrived for her – they all needed Brady's magic more than he did. "How are you holding up?"

Lucina was still for a moment and then she sighed deeply, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For sending you to Plegia...you all could have died a dozen times over and in the end...it didn't mean anything."

"Stop blaming yourself." Inigo managed to say firmly despite his own steadily growing fear. Maybe he was just over analyzing things, subconsciously projecting his own fears onto what he was hearing from her, but it almost sounded like she has given up. Of all things, Lucina  _can't_  give up. She was their leader, they all looked up to her. If she thought they were defeated, then what would the others think? What morale was left would fall and there would take little effort from the Risen to wipe out their little group when they attacked again. "You said the mission was strictly voluntary, didn't you? We all agreed to go because we all thought it was our best option at the time. You couldn't have known what was going to happen and it definitely wasn't your fault one of the stones was lost."

She closed her eyes. "It doesn't change what happened. Even taking the Hero King's name as my own meant nothing. I've failed..."

"Lucina..." If she was losing hope, it was his job to bestow it back to her. This was the reason why he created this illusion of invincibility after all. Surely, a small hope was better than having no hope at all? But still, he could think of nothing to say. He turned his head towards the corner where the statue of a dragon stood, unable to look at her expression any longer. Is this it? Is it how it ends? Would he have to die seeing the slumped shoulders of his friends as they accepted defeat?

In the silence, he could just barely hear footsteps from outside. The sound became louder until it came to a sudden halt and there was a flash of light. "Lucina, Inigo... there you are..." Yarne, now in his humanoid form, paused to catch his breath at the doorway, having followed their scents here from where the others were despite being tired and hurt from the battle.

"Guys, you won't believe this..." There was a hint of excitement in the taguel's voice that made the practical pessimist within Inigo warn him not to get his hopes up. "You won't believe what Nah just found out!"

"Huh?"

"She was praying! She actually managed to contact Naga!"

"Really?!" Hope flared within Inigo as he processed the information and realized that this may mean.

The spark of life seemed to return to Lucina as well. "What did she say?"

"There's another way, without the fifth gemstone! There's still a chance to save this world!"


	17. In the Sky that Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wish is made - and granted.

To be perfectly honest, it didn't take the merchant much effort to persuade the Shepherds to relax and enjoy the beach. Between the workout they just had to drive the beach-hogging bandits off the sand and the fact that most of them just flat out wanted to have fun in the Outrealms rather than fight the imitations of legendary heroes for a change, many had enthusiastically shed their combat gear for the lighter clothing more suited to the Outrealm's tropical climate offered to them by the merchant.

When night fell, a fire pit was built, as per the merchant's suggestions, and Laurent and Mirel said they wanted them all to witness the application of a scientific phenomena (or something) they had been researching together. They did not disappoint.

Lucina stood a little ways away from the other Shepherds huddled around the fire, watching Laurent's new invention go off, each into a dazzling display of color. She had briefly left the to get another ice cream cone from the merchant selling the treat when she heard the first go off. She had no idea how her friend and his mother did it, but it was beautiful.

She barely heard him approach, but recognized him when his arms encircled her waist and pulled her close.

"Not joining the others?"

"Soon," she replied with a smile as another round of fireworks (as Laurent called his creation) went off in the distance. Inigo tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear from behind.

"Not quite the same as shooting stars," he said absentmindedly, "but make a wish?"

She looked up at him. "We're not children anymore, Inigo."

Inigo laughed lightly. "I know. Humor me, then. We'll both do it when the next one comes up."

He called her contagious once, but privately she thought that  _he_  was the contagious one with his easy smiles and good humor. Rolling her eyes with a smile, Lucina nodded. She no longer believed in wishing on stars, but what was the harm in it, really?

Seeing something being fired into the sky, Lucina quickly put the last of ice cream's waffle cone into her mouth. There was another explosion of lights, this time blue and purple. Bringing her hands together and bending her head, there was really only one thing she really wanted.

"You gaze at stars, but no longer wish on them?" Inigo broke the silence.

"Wishing isn't enough," Lucina said, plainly stating the truth, "there's nothing to gain from waiting for miracles to happen. If you want something, you have to go and get it yourself."

"Hmm...that is true, isn't it?" Inigo pulled away from her and stepped back, reaching into a pocket. Confused, Lucina turned around to face him and froze when she saw him down on one knee and holding a ring.

"Lucina," he began, "I know I am far from being the kind of man you deserve, but I love you and I fully intend to spend the rest of my life with you, if you will have me. I...Lucina, will you marry me?"

"I..." She knew what her answer was, but words seemed to have escaped her. She also knelt so she was eye level with him. "I...yes!" she finally choked out. "Yes! Did you even have to ask? Of course I'll marry you!"

Inigo's face broke into a grin and he slipped the ring onto her finger, leaning back to give it an approving look. "You're right about that. You can't expect anything to happen if you don't do anything except wish." He caught her eye and winked. "I wished on the fireworks that you would say yes and you did."

"You thought I would say no?" Lucina asked.

"Always a possibility," he replied with a shrug, "I wanted to do this for so long, the thoughts surfaced by themselves when I didn't."

"How long  _have_  you been planning this?"

"Hard to say," he admitted, "when I bought the ring, I intended to ask you to marry me after the war was over, but I don't know, seeing everybody gathered around the fire with their families made me think I should do it sooner than later."

Lucina couldn't help but giggle. She had left the fire to get an ice cream and now she would be returning with a ring on her finger. It wasn't Olivia's. She would never expect him to part with it. It was, after all, the only memento he had of his true mother and father. It was simple in design, nothing like the ones she would have been offered by nobles hoping to increase their own power by marrying her if Grima never awoke, but it was the meaning behind it that mattered to her and not how fancy or expensive it was. "I can't wait to tell Mother and Father! Morgan too."

At the mention of her family, Inigo's face fell. Lucina furrowed her brows at this sudden change. "Is something wrong?"

"Um...yes, about your father," Inigo scratched his cheek sheepishly, "you know how I originally planned to propose  _after_  the war?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Yes, and?"

"Well, I kinda...didn't talk to Chrom about this. Please don't let him kill me when we tell him."


	18. Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The first casualty of war is innocence."  
> \- SL Buckley

Inigo will never,  _ever_  forget the first time he saw a Risen.

One moment, everything was fine. He was trying to keep up with Owain and Morgan's enthusiasm as they yelled the names of their 'special techniques' as they played Justice Cabal. They may not have thought about it much then, but they were no longer waving their wooden swords about wildly, but practiced the thrusts and parries they were taught as they played...

...and then Cynthia screamed.

Inigo stopped running suddenly; so suddenly that Morgan crashed into him, sending them both tumbling to the ground, but not before he saw the Risen standing over Kjelle, who was lying face down, and a sobbing Cynthia, with its knife raised, ready to strike either girl with then intention to kill. It's deathless face was exactly as his father described to him, and Henry did not mince his words when speaking of these monsters – pale skin, too pale to be natural, glowing red eyes – but it was a thousand times worse seeing them with his own eyes rather than trying to imagine them.

Quick as a flash, Lon'qu closed the distance between the girls and where he had been reclining and killed the Risen before it could attack either one. Maribelle and Lissa, who were also supervising the children wasted no time to kneel down next to the girls with their staves.

Kjelle – brave, fearless Kjelle – let out a whimper when Maribelle removed the dagger from her body so she could tend to the wound. Seeing her friend in pain made Cynthia cry even harder into Lissa's arms.

(Inigo was trying not to cry too.)

"She's in shock." Lissa murmured. More quietly she added, "poor thing...and so soon after Sumia and Gaius..." Maribelle nodded in response to the other healer's words but did not look away from her patient.

Lon'qu still had his sword drawn and he was pacing. "How did it get in?" he growled, "How did it get past the guards?"

"It might've gotten in though the hole in the wall." Cordelia, who swooped down on her pegasus at the sound of Cynthia screaming, said softly. There was silence amongst the adults.

"I thought Frederick had it closed up?" Lissa asked when she recovered.

"He did, darling" Maribelle replied, drawing her staff back. She didn't offer any more comments as she examined the laceration again.

"No matter," Lon'qu said flatly, "If there's one, there might be others. I'm going to do a perimeter check."

"Not by yourself," Cordelia interjected, "I'm coming with you." Lon'qu stiffened at the offer, but he nodded. Noticing this, the red-haired pegasus knight smiled a little wryly. "I will keep my distance. Promise."

Lissa nodded. "Okay. Be careful, both of you." As though finally remembering they had an audience, she looked back at the ten other children. She wasn't just worried about their safety, but for their mentality as well. She was fifteen when she saw her first battle. Young, yes, but still several years older than most of the children here.

"I'm going to take them back inside." To Maribelle, she added, "I'll have someone bring a stretcher for Kjelle. In the meantime, someone should get Frederick to temporarily relive Stahl. Sully's been stationed near the North Road, but it'll do Kjelle much good if–  _when_  she wakes up."

Maribelle murmured her thanks, Lon'qu and Cordelia turned to leave, and Lissa, holding Cynthia in her arms, shepherded the children back into Castle Ylisse.

* * *

"It's my fault isn't it?"

Cynthia was no longer crying hysterically. Her wailing had quieted down into subdued sniffs. She wasn't the only one who had been shedding tears though. Noire, Brady and Yarne had cried once they realized what happened and Inigo, despite his best efforts, had sniffled a bit too.

Hours ago, they had watched Kjelle being taken into the infirmary by Maribelle, Lissa and Stahl, who was still in full armor, where they were gathered in front of. Servants tried to gently shoo them away, but they quickly gave up when they realized the children were going to stubbornly stay where they were no matter what.

Inigo awkwardly patted her back, not sure what to do.

"She'll be okay right?" Morgan piped up, his hand being held tightly by his sister, as though she was afraid another one of those monsters will jump out of the nearest shadow and take him away from her. "I mean, she's super strong and Aunt Lissa and Lady Maribelle are the best healers here. She'll make it...right?" He looked around, desperately waiting for someone to agree with him. When none of them did, he lowered his gaze.

Cynthia sniffed. "I wish I wasn't so weak. I keep talking about becoming a hero, but I'm still the one being protected."

"You aren't weak," Gerome, who had been witnessing everything unfold in silence, spoke up, "remember yesterday night? If it weren't for you, I never would have been able to do it."

The significance of the young wyvern tamer's words completely flew over Inigo's head, but Cynthia understood. If Inigo had been awkward when he tried to comfort Cynthia, then everything about Gerome's facial expressions and actions when the twin-tailed girl hugged him was beyond the scope of awkwardness.

The infirmary door creaked open. Lissa poked her head out and immediately caught sight of the children huddled outside. "Kjelle is going to be okay," she said, smiling gently, "she's awake now."

"Can we see her?"

"Of course, but try not to be too loud okay?"

They all filed in one by one. Lucina's grip on Morgan slackened enough to let him draw his hand away from hers as he followed Laurent inside. Lucina did not follow her brother and stayed where she was.

"Lucy?" Inigo asked, the nicknamed slipping out by accident. He tried to remember his mother's advice, trying not to appear timid and meek, but between his crush on her and what just happened, he couldn't muster up the bravado he'd been trying to practice.

"It's all his fault..." she said so softly that Inigo almost didn't hear her. "It's all Grima's fault." she repeated, a little more loudly this time. "Why did he have to come back?"

Inigo nearly balked when he saw there were tears in her eyes. Unlike him and the others however, she wasn't just crying because she just witnessed her friend mortally wounded. She was crying because she was  _angry_. Angry that her friend had been hurt. Angry that she couldn't protect her. Angry that there was nothing she could do except to watch everything happen. "Father..." she choked when she mentioned him. Lucina loved her father and she had never been quite the same after he died. "He left me Falchion and... and I'm going to use it to make Grima wish he never came back! He's going to  _pay_  for hurting Kjelle!"

The fury in her eyes made him recoil. Inigo never seen her so enraged before. The anger she had shown when Severa and Gerome accidentally fed her favorite practice sword to Minerva was  _nothing_  compared to this. He had to remind himself that she was angry at the Fell Dragon, not him.

Tentatively, he reached out and took her hand. Lucina wiped her face with her other hand. There were a lot of things Inigo wanted to say, many of them were perhaps too bold to be taken seriously from the lips of a boy with his demeanor, but he didn't. He just led her into the infirmary where everyone had gathered around Kjelle's bed.

Cynthia was crying once more, apologizing to Stahl and Kjelle over and over again, blaming herself for the scar that will likely never fade away, no matter how many times the viridian knight tried to assure her it wasn't her fault.


	19. Pitfalls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Morgan gets the higher ground on Inigo.  
> Literally.

_Son of a –! Who put this hole here? Ow, ow,_ oww _... Is Frederick trying to catch another bear for dinner? Ouch, gods that REALLY hurts...I think I may have broke something..._

This was the jumble of thoughts running through Inigo's head as he blinked stars out of his vision.

"Hey, Inigo!" a voice called from above. Inigo glanced up from the bottom of the pit he was sitting in with every intention to _chew the hell out of_  whomever set the trap. He saw the familiar face of a certain blue-haired and amnesiac aspiring tactician smiling down at him. "Wow... I didn't think you would actually 'fall' for this."

"Don't 'hey' me, Morgan!" Inigo snapped, more irritably than usual, but considering how he was just walking down the road minding his own business when the earth beneath his feet gave way, causing him to fall into the hole someone had dug, could anyone blame him? "You know anyone with a hobby for ditch digging?"

"Just me, but I wouldn't call it a hobby."

" _You_  put this hole here?"

"Sure did!" the young tactician replied cheerfully. "It's good wasn't it? You never even known it was there!"

Grumbling, Inigo had to admit he was right. He certainly did not notice anything unusual that may have tipped him off about the trap until he walked right into it. "Why would you put a hole in the middle of the road?"

"Well..." Morgan thought for a moment. In his silence, Inigo briefly wondered if he had forgotten why he had dug this stupid hole in the first place. For all his skill in tactics and battle, the prince of Ylisse was kind of an airhead at times. "Oh yes! Now I remember! The trap wasn't actually meant for you, specifically."

Inigo resisted the urge to face palm.

The navy-haired royal peered down at his catch "But this works out. There was something I wanted to talk to you about."

Inigo was about to ask why Morgan couldn't have approached him like a normal (or at least as normal as a Shepherd could be) person, before he noticed the young tactician's expression. Morgan remembered little of their future so it was only natural, in a way, for him to be more genuinely cheerful than the others, so Inigo was rather caught off guard by his solemn visage.

"What's this I've been hearing about you and my sister?"

Immediately, Inigo's thoughts flew back to the evening following Walhart's defeat. Lucina had sought him out, pulled him aside where they would not be interrupted and, amazingly enough, confessed that she had feelings for him. Still rather lost in the euphoria of the memory of what was easily one of the best days of his life (not that there were many to begin with), Inigo gave a rather intelligent reply of "...uh?"

Morgan exhaled. "You. Lucina. You know, my sister. A  _couple_."

So far they hadn't actually told anyone yet, preferring to wait until things involving Valm settled down for a bit, but if someone managed to overhear them at Valm Castle or witnessed any of the stolen kisses between them in private since, there was no doubt that word would have spread quickly. Gossip, especially those concerning people's love lives, traveled fast in the Shepherd's camp. (Though part of it were likely idle speculation of some bored soldiers. Inigo still remembered the cold horror he had felt when he heard the – thankfully false – rumor that Lucina and Brady were a couple that sprung up a month or two ago when someone overheard some shouting between them, for example.)

"How-?"

"Never mind how I know," Morgan interrupted, "Is it true?"

"Yes, it's true."

Morgan studied him in silence. In one hand, Inigo was having the horrible impression that if Morgan wanted to hatch a plan to bring him down, he would go down, no questions asked. On the other hand, he was thinking he was having a preview of the day when Chrom finds out about him and Lucina one way or another.

...Neither thought was making him particularly happy at the moment.

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"I said 'okay,'" Morgan said, his usual grin returning to his face (much to Inigo's relief), "but you better take care of her! If I so much as suspect that you're cheating on her...well, you'll regret it."

"Morgan, I promise. If I ever cheat on Lucina, you have my full permission to smite me in whichever way you see fit. Remind me to give you a signed letter addressed to my dad so he won't curse you to your eyebrows before you do, though. "

Morgan continued looking down at him expectantly. "And?"

"...would it be too much to ask you if you can get me out of this hole?"

"What?" Morgan seemed to just remembered that Inigo was eight feet below him. "Oh, sure! I'll be right back." He disappeared, probably too look for something to help Inigo get out of the trench. It wasn't too long before Inigo heard a new voice.

"Did you finally get Mother to fall for your trap?"

"Hi Lucy! And nope, not Mom."

Lucina's curious face appeared above him. "Inigo?" She asked with a sort of amused shock. He waved a little sheepishly up at her. "How did you –? No, never mind. How are we going to get you out?"

The royal siblings each grabbed one of his arms and pulled him out with their combined strength. Once Inigo was safely out, the three of them all fell back laughing for no apparent reason.

Lucina was still giggling slightly when she recuperated enough to ask, "How did you fall into Morgan's trap?"

Before Inigo could reply, Morgan decided to answer for him with a knowing grin. "I don't know sis, when were you going to tell me you and Inigo were courting?"

"Wh–what? How did you know about that?"

Morgan stuck his tongue out at his sister, "I'm a tactician, remember? There's  _nothing_  you can keep a secret from me, especially not something like this!"

"Please don't tell our parents, Morgan," Lucina groaned, "they should hear it from us."

"Sure! Your secret's safe with me!"

Still grinning like fools, the three of them stood up, filled up the hole in case someone else fell into it, and headed back to camp.

"I meant it before," Inigo said to Morgan once Lucina was out of earshot. "I know I'm not some knight in shining armor, but I swear I won't ever do anything that will hurt her."

"I believe you." Morgan replied, kicking an unfortunate rock on the road, "It's just... I remember next to nothing about her, you know? She's my sister and...I guess it's just weird to know that you and Cynthia and Owain and...basically everyone all know her better than I do."

A heart to heart with Lucina's little brother was not something Inigo had expected when this day began. "It's not your fault your memories got wiped."

"That's what everyone tells me, but don't you  _wonder_  sometimes?"

"What's to wonder?" Inigo asked as flippantly as he could. They did think Morgan was dead for a long time and, while Inigo wasn't present at the occasion he heard from Lucina about how they found Morgan again with a bunch of Risen ominously reciting the mantra ' _must kill future child_ ' in some temple in Ferox. "You're Morgan. Cynthia, Owain and I may have more memories of her than you do now, but you're her brother. None of us can replace you in her life, you know?"

"Thanks, Inigo," Morgan said gratefully. As if to return the sentiment, he patted Inigo on the back. "And don't worry about Father, I'll vouch for you! Between me and Lucina, he probably won't kill you or anything like that! ...I think."


	20. Warmth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a failed rescue mission.

The sound of footsteps on the charred leaves jolted Lucina awake. Her hand flew to Falchion's hilt as her gaze darted around in search of the threat.

"Sorry," Inigo breathed, "I didn't mean to wake you."

The two of them, along with Laurent and the recently acquainted Nah, were camping in what was left of the Farfort. Lucina, Inigo and Laurent had headed this way in hopes of persuading the villagers to leave their home and come to Ylisstol, where they would be a tad safer from Grima and the Risen. When they arrived, they found only the remains of the village and a young dragon girl.

With a little bit of gentle prodding, Nah told the three of them what happened. The village was attacked by aerial Risen, explaining why the bridge that connected the island to the mainland was still in tact. Nah followed the militia to fight with them, but she had been knocked out during the battle. When she awoke, everything and everyone were gone – including her foster family.

When Nah finished her story on the verge of tears, Lucina offered her an invitation to return to Ylisstol with them. The girl was a little hesitant about accepting, but the three of them assured her that nobody would care that she was a half-human manakete and Nah finally agreed to come back with them to Ylisstol once she was certain there were no ulterior motives involved. Lucina knew the scientist in Laurent was bursting with questions for Nah, especially when she revealed that her father was human, but she was glad that he was tactful enough to refrain from asking any.

It was Laurent who suggested they set up camp for the night and then travel back in the morning. Lucina, Inigo and Laurent had been traveling nonstop for almost a full day and Nah likely hadn't slept well for even longer than that. Inigo had volunteered to take the first watch. Considering how he hasn't traded places with Laurent yet, Lucina figured she barely slept for two hours. The silver-haired mercenary stopped his pacing and settled for sitting cross-legged next to the extinguished fire with his sword laid across his lap. Lucina didn't bother lying down again, so she sat up and quietly, so not to wouldn't disturb the still asleep Laurent and Nah, walked over to join him. "Are you alright? Nah didn't hurt you earlier did she?"

It was Inigo who had spotted Nah hiding in the one of the few houses that haven't been brought completely down. She thought he was a Risen and ran. Inigo followed her and when he caught up, Nah panicked, shifted into her dragon form. Between the shock of seeing her transformation and dodging her attack, he ended up slipping into the river. "What, that?" he asked, surprised, "don't worry Luce, it'll take a more than a little dragon breath to ruin this perfect face."

Lucina was not unobservant. He was shivering. Nah may not have hurt him, but the night was cold and his earlier spill at the river wasn't doing him any favors. She undid her cape and tossed it over his head. "What the–?"

"I can tell you're cold," she explained, taking a seat next to him, "You know you can't afford to get sick now."

He fumbled with the garment until it wasn't obscuring his face. "But won't  _you_  be cold without it?"

She  _was_  more aware of the chill without the familiar feeling of the cape around her shoulders, but she wasn't the one at the risk of catching a cold. "I wasn't the one who fell into the river."

Inigo let out a little laugh. "Thanks," he said, "Just knowing a lady such as yourself is looking out for my health is enough to keep me warm for the rest of the evening." Though the flirting was unappreciated, the ease at which he can still smile and joke around despite their circumstances still managed to amaze her to this day.

Nah whimpered in her sleep. Lucina sighed and looked away from her. She always wanted to meet a real manakete when she was a child. Briefly, she wondered if this is what the Hero King had felt when he first met the manakete princess Tiki. For all the power she had as a divine dragon, when it came down to the truth she was really just a young girl afraid of being alone.

Inigo's eyes followed the blue-haired princess from under the cape he was wearing like the hood of a cowl when she stood again. "I'm going to try to sleep. Wake me if there's trouble."

"Will do."

Five hours later, when Laurent woke her up for her shift, the first thing she noticed was that Inigo returned her cape to her before he went to catch what sleep he could.


	21. With Heads Held High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They do It.

The party was thrown in her mother's honor as much as it was for Grima's defeat.

Morgan didn't stick around for long. He had retired to his room earlier in the evening. Lucina knew he must be taking this badly and she was worried about him. Reaching the room that he was given for his use during his stay at Ylisstol, Lucina opened the door and looked inside. As it turned out, he didn't need her, as he already had someone to comfort him. Morgan was sobbing, as she feared, but Nah was there with him, patiently running her fingers through his navy hair as he dampened her dress with his tears.

She murmured a wordless ' _thank you_ ' to the young manakete as she quietly closed the door again. Not really sure what else to do, Lucina found herself heading back to the the celebrations. When she reached the stairs, she saw Inigo sitting on the bottom step, his head against the wall. He barely twitched when she made her way down the stairs, which made her think he probably dozed off.

Smiling gently, Lucina sat down next to him and leaned against his shoulder. She might've slept a little when she closed her eyes, but she opened them again when she felt him move his arm.

"Hey," Inigo whispered, "How are you holding up?"

"Well enough," she replied, "I was more worried about Morgan."

"How is he doing?"

"I think he'll be fine for now."

"And you?" It was his first question reworded. He wanted a straight answer.

Lucina sighed deeply. Her mother had sacrificed herself to put the dragon down for good. Her goal from the very beginning was to merely prevent Grima from awakening, or, failing that, put him back to sleep before he could usher in her future of despair. She didn't think it was possible for him to be permanently destroyed. He was a god, after all, wasn't he?

Still, against all odds, there had been a way, but not one without sacrifices. She could still recall the hurt and betrayal in her father's eyes when he realized what Robin was doing. "She promised she wouldn't," he had said. Lucina wished she could say she was as surprised as her father and brother. She had seen her mother's eyes the after their escape from Plegia Castle. It didn't matter if she died on the sword of her own daughter or by using Grima's power against itself, Robin had been prepared to lay down her life for her family and her friends and nothing was going to stop her once she set her mind to it. In hindsight, Lucina knew she was expecting her mother to break her promise to Chrom when she said she wouldn't sacrifice herself to save the world. As for why she didn't voice her suspicions, she knew there was a part of her that wanted to believe her mother was telling the truth.

"I promised myself that when I found out who betrayed my father, I would kill them before they could," she buried her face in her hands, "I was all talk. I couldn't do it when I found out it was my own mother and I didn't  _want_  her to do it."

Inigo laid his head atop of her's. "If you need to cry, you know my shoulder's always available for you to use."

She pulled back to face him. "No," she said firmly, "No crying. I'd say she gave her life so I...all of us can live our lives without ever having to worry about Grima, but... she'll be back, I know it. I believe in her." She didn't during that sunset confrontation so she will double her faith today and in the future.

Inigo was silent for a moment and then he dared smile. "And here I was, so worried that you were beating yourself up for this. You have a habit of doing that." Inigo fondly ran his hand through her hair. "There's nothing wrong with that, not when it goes to show what kind of person you are... But I've always hated watching you blame yourself for things you had no control over."

Slipping her fingers still into his hair, Lucina leaned forward and kissed him. She couldn't help but feel a little pleased when she heard him groan as she brushed her tongue over his lips. His arms lowered from her hair to her waist, bringing her closer to him. When she found the strength to draw away, she whispered "thank you."

They stayed where they were together in silence for a moment longer. Finally, Inigo asked, "So what now? Rejoin the celebrations? Khan Basilio, Khan Flavia, and Gregor probably need some more people to drink under the table. Besides each other, obviously."

"Well, actually," Lucina knew she was blushing. "I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me to my room?"

"Sure," he answered without missing a beat, thought he did sound slightly confused, "Although I thought you knew your way around this place."

"I do. I was just wondering if you wanted to... _you know_..."

"If I wanted to... o _h_ ," Lucina felt herself growing redder as Inigo finally put the pieces together. When he did, he flushed too. "Sorry, that... caught me off guard... But are you sure?"

Cheeks still pink, she closed her eyes and nodded. Maybe it was the kiss, or they've been holding back throughout the war and knowing it was finally, finally over, but she wanted him. "It's stupid, but I don't want to be alone tonight."

"There's many words I can use to describe that request Luce, but 'stupid' isn't one of them."


	22. Moment of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward guard duty is awkward.

"You're on guard duty tonight?"

Lucina nearly dropped the stick she was using to poke the fire when she heard Inigo's voice behind her.

"Um...yes..." she replied, "I thought Noire was supposed to help me..."

"She came down with a cold really suddenly," Inigo explained, "So she threatened...uh, I mean, asked me to cover her."

That sounded reasonable. "...Oh."

"So..."

"So..."

"I'll just...sit here then..."

Lucina mumbled something affirmative and just like that, the two of them fell into an awkward silence. They hadn't spoken to each other in nearly a week ever since she yelled at him for being too carefree during a war. She started poking the fire again, not because it needed to be tended, but to give her hands something to do.

Time went by. Lucina's eyes were drawn by Inigo every once in a while. Was it her, or did he seem a little less...spirited than before? In fact, he almost seemed to be upset about something. She couldn't think of a reason why it would, but there was something about his perturbed manner that concerned her.

Inigo turned his head sideways and in the firelight and she saw a red hand-shaped mark on his cheek. It really didn't take a genius to figure out how he gotten it. Even though it explained why he wasn't in a good mood, it didn't really help ease the pain she was feeling from seeing his face. Before she had a chance to consider her words, she found herself asking, "Does it hurt?"

Startled that she was initiating a conversation, he looked at her, "What?" She tapped her cheek in answer. Inigo gingerly fingered his own. "No. I can barely feel it anymore, in fact," he admitted, "Cynthia gave me some ice earlier and I've kinda...gotten used to it."

"Being slapped?"

"Being rejected," Inigo corrected, "It hurts at first, but then the more it happens, you start to become immune to it...kinda like with this war, actually."

Once again, Lucina stopped poking the fire. "Like this war?" She honestly couldn't think of anything similar between his philandering and fighting a war.

"Yeah...the first time I killed a man, I couldn't sleep for days. Now, barely think of it anymore. Sometimes I wonder if I'm starting to loose my conscience..."

This time, Lucina  _did_  drop the stick. She stared at him, shocked at just how casually he could speak of such a topic, but even more so that she was seeing a part of him that wasn't perpetually trying to get up a girl's skirt. Inigo must have realized this as well because his expression indicated he wanted to take back his words at once. "Oh, gods, what did I just say? I wasn't thinking..."

With a horrified iciness within her, realization dawned on her. "All this time, it was me who's been the fool," she whispered, "I yelled at you for not being serious during times like these, but you've been serious from the very beginning, haven't you?"

Inigo groaned, "I'm sorry. Just...forget I said anything, please..."

"No...don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong," Lucina protested hurriedly, "It's me who needs to apologize. I was wrong about you."

"Lucina..."

"And I think I was wrong about what you told me before," she continued, "when I saw your face just then, I think I understood what you were trying to say. We influence the emotions of those around us...and a smile is a powerful thing."

The hit of a smile flickered across his face. "Yes, that's it exactly. And yours count for double."

His good humor was contagious. "Heh, thank you, Inigo."

"And she finally smiles," Inigo was grinning openly now, "When tickling and miming proved to be ineffective, I should've tried baring my soul to you."

Lucina laughed lightly. "For what its worth, I don't think you're losing your conscience. You wouldn't be wondering in the first place if you did."

"Thanks," he said gratefully, "hearing that from you means more than you could imagine."

They fell into a silence wasn't so awkward anymore until Lucina broke it for the second time that night. There was something she's was quite curious about.

"Hey, Inigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Why  _do_  you flirt with every woman you see despite all the rejection?"

Inigo gave her a look. "My little secret," he replied with an enigmatic smile, "but let's just say if you ever find out why, I won't have any reason to keep doing it."


	23. Light to Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are discussed.

Lucina finally figured out how to walk in heels without tripping. She wasn't used to wearing such formal attire. When she was in the future, fighting a war, and traveling with Inigo, everything she wore had been practical and comfortable as combat as fighting could break out in any moment.

But still, this was an important day and she was determined to see it through. Stepping gingerly into the room, she was greeted with the rather amusing sight of Severa doing, or at least  _trying_  to do, Cynthia's hair. The pegasus knight was already wearing her wedding dress. The gown's elegance was a humorous contrast to the mess that was her ginger hair.

"Stop moving!"

"I know! I know! But you keep tug–  _ow_!"

Despite sympathizing with Cynthia's pain, as she had been in the same position herself half an hour ago, Lucina couldn't hold back her giggle. She felt a strange sort of happiness in participating in something as normal as a wedding ceremony. Grima was defeated, treaties were signed, and when everything ended, life went on. For those who crossed time and dimensions, it was an opportunity to live out the dreams that were denied to them in the future.

The thought of her friends' wedding would be occurring soon, made Lucina reflect on her own future. For a while after Grima was defeated, she was adrift. Her life's mission was accomplished so what was she going to do now? At first, she considered going back to the future through the Outrealm Gate until Inigo proposed an alternative on the morning after the final battle.

* * *

"Travel the world?" she repeated.

"It's just a thought," he shrugged in response. "My mother... she used to have boxes of trinkets she picked up from around the world. She would let me see them and hold them and tell me the stories that came with them. I used to dream that one day I would be able to travel like she did with her dance troupe and see everything the world had to offer, but back in our future, dreams like that were all they will ever be."

She was silent as she thought about it. She knew that if she wanted to see if it were possible go back to their future, Inigo would follow her, no questions asked, but she didn't  _want_  him to. She knew how much he wanted to be a dancer and returning to their future would likely put an end to that dream one way or anouther.

Little time passed before she found herself warming to the idea. After all, this peace was to last, maybe not forever, but long enough for her to find something she wanted to do in life, so in the meantime, why not travel with Inigo as he lived out his dream? It wasn't as though she would be severing ties with her family forever.

"Let's do it." she found herself replying, "I want to see  _everything_. The cherry blossoms in Chon'sin Say'ri told me about once, Mila Tree or Mount Prisim, I would like to revisit, although... we should probably stay away from Plegia for a while, shouldn't we? And..." She stopped when she noticed his amused expression, "What's so funny?"

"I've never seen you so excited about something before," he explained innocently, "It's kinda cute."

She blushed, not used to being called cute. "I haven't really had much to be excited about, you know."

Inigo traced a path along her bare side, sending chills down her spine as he did so, and lightly kissed her lips. "I meant nothing by it. This whole 'peace' thing is new to all of us..."

* * *

A knock on the door brought Lucina back to reality. At this point, Severa was making the finishing touches on Cynthia's hair. Once the handmade feather barrette was in place, she stepped back to admire her work. When she was satisfied, she allowed Cynthia to stand and look at herself in the mirror.

"Whoa..." the pegasus knight breathed, "Is that really me?"

Lucina, happy that walking seemed to have gotten easier, moved next to the bride and handed her the bouquet. "Yes that's really you," she said encouragingly. "Just the kind of hero Wyvern Valley needs to keep the poachers at bay. You did a great job, Severa."

Smiling proudly, Severa opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by another knock, this time louder. The three girls turned to the door and Lucina, seeing as neither Cynthia nor Severa seemed to want to, told their visitors to come in.

The door was opened halfway and Inigo poked his head in. "Everything ready?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Severa was the one to reply. Inigo opened the door farther and he, Sumia and Gaius stepped in. The latter had a bandage on his left cheek, which earned him a raised eyebrow from Lucina, a narrowed glare from Severa and a look of concern from Cynthia.

"Father! What happened? Are you okay?"

"Minerva caught him trying to take a slice of the wedding cake," Inigo explained before the addressee could. Gaius shot him a glare.

"Gimme a break," the ex-thief muttered under his breath. "My little girl is getting married today..." In contrast to Gaius's surliness, Sumia seemed to be bursting with pride.

Realizing what was coming and not wanting to intrude on a family moment, Lucina took this as her cue to leave. All she needed to do was to come up with an excuse to leave. "I'm going to see if Cherche needs help with any last-minute preparations. Inigo? Severa?"

"Sure."

"Me too."

The three of them hurried out of the room without trying to make it  _too_  obvious. As soon as the door was closed to give the family of three some privacy, Severa turned to Lucina. "I'll go help Cherche. You two should tell Gerome everything is ready to go on our end."

"Thank you, Severa."

She nodded and then rounded fiercely on Inigo. "Don't mess up her hair or make up. If you do, I'll kick your ass."

"Duly noted..." Inigo answered Severa's retreating back. With a shrug, he turned to Lucina and said, "I'm happy for Gerome and Cynthia and all, but I can't wait until this is all over. It's been barely two hours and I feel like I'm suffocating in this suit."

"You do realize that you are going to have to wear a suit on  _our_  wedding day, I hope?" Lucina couldn't help but tease as she walked slightly past him. "But you do look quite dashing in one."

"If you think so, then it's worth it." he smiled, "Although I have to say you're a lovely sight yourself." He offered her his arm. "Well, shall we? Gerome's been twitching all morning – it actually kinda funny – maybe starting the ceremony a little ahead of schedule if everything's ready and everyone is present will do him some good."

Taking his arm, Lucina smiled and led them to where the groom was getting ready. There was a strange sort of happiness in participating in something as normal as a wedding ceremony. The wars have ended and peace has arrived.

And so, life went on.


	24. Fleece Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina's fashion sense strikes again.

"You have  _got_  to be joking..."

"You don't like it?" Lucina frowned at the abomination called a kigurumi (according to the Anna that sold it to her). "I was so sure that you would. After all, you like dogs, don't you?"

She was right about that. While animals were not universally fond of him like they were with Henry, he did harbor a love for dogs ever since he was young (unfortunately for him, the feeling was not always mutual). That said, he will  _not_  be caught dead wearing a fluffy, full body garment designed to resemble one – complete with a pair of floppy ears sewn onto the hood.

Or at least, that's what he thought. As he looked at Lucina's disappointed expression again, he knew there was no way he could possibly say no to her. He teased his friends about being firmly wrapped around the fingers of their lady loves, but he really shouldn't be talking. Maybe he can wear the thing once and then tell Lucina Brady burned it by accident while trying his hand at magic. Or burn it himself. How hard could it be to cast a basic Fire spell?

"...Alright," he forced himself to say, "Um...It's not really practical for fighting is it? But I'll wear it...occasionally."

"Really?" Her face instantly lit up, "I'm so relived to hear that! I couldn't decide whether I should get this or the white one that looked like a cat..."

Inigo wondered if he'd been had.

He also wondered if he was going to regret this.

* * *

He was half right about the regretting.

Despite looking quite ridiculous, Inigo had to admit the kigurumi was actually kind of comfortable. When he put it on, it was kind of nostalgic, almost felt like he was a young child again. He knew he wasn't ever going to be able to go back to such times, but in a way, it felt nice to be reminded of it.

Lucina reached up to pull the hood over his head for him. The process put them closer together and, without warning, she gave him a push. In response, he threw his arms around her waist, sending them both down onto his cot with Inigo on his back and Lucina lying on top of him.

The princess in his arms snuggled up against him. "You're so soft," she said absently.

He chuckled self-consciously. 'Soft' wasn't exactly the type of adjective that would boost his self-esteem, but he knew Lucina didn't mean it as an insult. "I think it's the clothes, Luce."

"So you like it?"

"Sure," he replied, "it's comfortable."  _Almost feels like home_. "Maybe I'll start wearing them to bed."

"Mhmmm...is that so?" Her voice was slightly muffled by the fleece material, "Maybe it'll help keep your bad dreams at bay." More than once, she had listened to him reliving the moments where his parents gave their lives to protect him or experiencing what-ifs conjured up by his greatest fears – dying alone, failing his parents again, losing her – until she couldn't take it anymore and roused him for both his sake and her own.

"We'll see," he said, "but if it doesn't, just holding you like this helps."

Lucina nuzzled closer to him. "Let's stay like this for a bit longer."

Inigo kissed her forehead. "Whatever you want."

The thought of wearing the kigurumi out in public still mortified him, but he supposed this wasn't so bad after all; guess he'll just have to find something else to burn in his amateur attempts at magic.

He only needed to make sure Brady and Owain never, ever found out about it. The last thing he wanted to do was to give them was another source of blackmail material.


	25. Invisible Ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the final battle.

Her jaw was rigid, her lips a firm line, and her brows were furrowed. If they were anywhere else, Inigo would have teasingly warned her about the dangers of accumulating premature wrinkles, but he couldn't blame her for being on edge. After all, she was standing before the Dragon's Table, where Validar was planning to revive Grima, where everything went wrong for them and the world in their future.

Inigo reached out a little, only far enough to entwine their fingers together. Lucina responded by turning to him and initiating a kiss. No matter how hesitant and awkward she had been with displays of affection, especially in public, during the initial stages of their courtship, she seemed to be fine with it now.

When she pulled back, she rested her head against his shoulders.

Chrom and Robin seemed to have finished their last minute discussions. Chrom was wearing an expression similar to his daughter's as he headed towards the doors behind which Validar awaited and called for the Shepherds' attention.

Robin on the other hand, headed straight for Inigo and Lucina. Seeing this, Inigo gently nudged Lucina out her her pensive position. The desert was rough on those not on Pegasus or wyvern back and even they had to cope with the sandstorms and thirst. In contrast, Robin did not seemed bothered by the sun and heat despite her dark cloak.

At this point, Inigo wasn't really sure what to make of the woman before him. In one hand, she was  _Robin_. Queen and tactician of Ylisse, Lucina's mother, his mother's best friend. She was someone he held a good amount of respect for, especially since she played an pivotal part in keeping him in one piece when he and Lucina finally told their parents they were together (though she did not spare him the dry comment of having not expected her own daughter to be the 'young lass to fall for his questionable charms').

On the other hand, she was the one who put the Fire Emblem into Validar's hands. The revelation that their tactician was in fact the Plegian king's daughter had shocked everyone, but what was much more alarming was how he somehow gained control over her actions and coerced her into taking the emblem from her husband. For every person who expressed their faith in her despite of this, Olivia included, there was another who had doubts. Even if they believed Robin would never willingly betray them, where was the proof that Validar could not force her to?

Inigo noticed how Lucina averted her eyes when her mother approached. Did something happen between the two women?

"Lucina, Inigo..."

"Hello," No matter what he thought of her, he couldn't bring himself to be rude to a person that was as important to his mother and Lucina as she was. "Is there something you needed done?" Strategy always seemed to be a safe topic to open with when it came to the amnesiac.

Her lips twitched slightly underneath her hood. "Nothing specific," she replied in the light tone of someone forcing themselves to sound more cheerful than they actually were. Inigo was quite familiar with it. "Stay together, keep each other safe. Which I assume you will do with or without my orders, yes?"

Inigo saluted as an instinctive attempt to lighten up the mood. Robin rolled her eyes, but became somber when she turned to her daughter.

"Lucina, please look at me," she said firmly, but not unkindly. The princess did so, but said nothing. "I meant what I said before. If push comes to shove, do what you must."

"I... I understand." Lucina's voice was study, but the grip around his hand tightened. Robin nodded once and returned to join her husband at the front.

The whole exchange lasted less than half a minute, but something significant had passed between mother and daughter. "I'm not going to ask what that was about," Inigo said. Not that he didn't  _want_  to know, especially with how he had found Lucina in a rather distressed state after their desperate escape from Plegia Castle. She hadn't been present when Chrom and Robin made exactly what happened when the Emblem was stolen public knowledge ("They have the right to know," Robin had insisted). He was worried about her, especially once Laurent voiced the significance of those events for those who hadn't placed the pieces together on their own. After all, they all heard the story.  _During a battle fought to sway his destiny, Chrom had been betrayed and killed by his closest friend._  It was the use of the term 'friend' that had them all thrown. "Not right now, at least."

"My apologies," she answered, but her eyes flashed in gratitude. She wasn't ready to tell him the meaning behind her mother's cryptic words to him, and perhaps it wasn't even his business in the first place, but he trusted that she had her reasons if she chose to or chose not to speak to him about it one day.

Around them, their comrades starting to make their way towards the Dragon's Table. Lucina closed her mismatched eyes and breathed deeply. When she opened them again, her expression was focused and determined. She let go of his hand and placed it on Falchion's hilt, the butterfly charm he purchased for her swayed lightly with her movements. "Take care of yourself in there, Inigo." she said, "I don't think I would be able to bear it if I lost you."

It was unexpected, but not in a bad way. "Don't worry," he promised, "You heard your mother. I'm not going to die in there and neither are you. You worked too hard to make this happen and I'll be damned if it ended anyway other than how you imagined it."

" _We_ ," she rectified, " _We_  worked hard to make it happen. I couldn't have done it without you or the others."

Together, they entered the Dragon's Table. The change in temperature was immediate and sudden, as though the desert heat seemed to be unable to co-exist with the cool air within the entrance hall.

Just like how the ideals of a fatalist like Validar will never be able to co-exist with that of Lucina or her father, who believes that anything can change.

Naga gave them a chance and he had no intention of wasting it. To hell with destiny.  _The future was going to change today._


	26. Safeguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucina makes a difficult decision. Thankfully, Inigo understands.

Lucina opened the flap of the medical tent and quietly entered. When she saw Henry, she almost retreated back outside again, but the dark mage noticed her before she could. "Oh, hey, Lucina!"

Lucina returned his greeting politely before turning her attention to the person still unconscious on the cot Henry was sitting beside. "How is he?"

"Woke up once. Seemed pretty out of it," Henry answered.

The princess felt herself relax at the sorcerer's words. He had no reason to lie and he was never one to sugarcoat things when it came to death and gruesome injuries. The healers told her Inigo would be fine despite the severity of his injury and their judgments have never been wrong before.

The last battle had presented her with a test she wasn't ready for. She knew she would do anything within her power to keep her father safe, but at what cost? During the battle, she had noticed Inigo struggling against with a pair of swordmasters and almost immediately afterwards her father being ambushed by a dark knight caught her attention.

She had frozen in indecision then. She  _wanted_  to save them both, but she couldn't be in two different places at once. In the end, she had chosen to aid her father, praying to Naga that Inigo would be safe.

Perhaps her prayers had been heard, because Inigo did make it. Lucina had sought him out afterwards and found him with Owain, who likely came to his aid when she didn't. Inigo had offered her a weak smile when he saw her and then with the adrenaline that helped kept him going gone, he collapsed where he stood, bleeding heavily from a laceration in his side that he had managed to keep hidden from her cousin until now.

She had done her best to stem the blood flow while Owain, whose zeal to speak dramatically faded once he realized the extent of his best friend's injuries, went and called for a healer.

Henry's cloak swished as he stood up from his chair. Lucina vaguely, and somewhat randomly, remembered that Inigo used to keep the one his father always wore back in the future. It was probably lost during one of the many attacks the Risen had made on Ylisstol.

"You don't mind sitting with him for a while?" he asked with a huge yawn, "I'm totally beat. ...Oh! And I need to wash the blood off my cloak. Olivia still freaks out whenever she sees me like this, you know? Even though the blood isn't mine. It was cool when he bleed all over, though! Nya ha!"

Lucina nodded wordlessly, wondering if Henry would be so ready to leave her here with his son if he knew she could have prevented this but didn't.

Regardless, Lucina sat by Inigo's bedside. She had watched his labored breathing on the battlefield, fearing each one may be his last. As she sat there in the medical tent, she kept replaying the moment over and over in her head. Did she make the best choice back there? Was there something she could've done differently? Or maybe there was a course of action she had failed to consider altogether? She could still feel his blood on her hands.

"Lucina...?" Inigo's hoarse voice brought her out of her reflections. He was awake, but slightly groggy. Lucina sat up straighter. "I thought my father was here..."

"He left to rest," she replied. "Inigo," she began, but her words ran dry. What was she supposed to say to someone who almost died because of her? "I...you..."  _Deep breath_. "How are you feeling?"

"...Like I've been bear-hugged by a wyvern."

She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but he was at least feeling good enough to be cracking jokes. Henry did say he was still feeling the after effects of the healing magic the last time he woke up. Exhaling the breath she had been holding all day, she proceeded to the next logical step. "Do you want me to get a healer?"

He shook his head. "I don't need a healer," he replied, "but...can you move a bit closer?"

It was a strange request, but he wasn't asking for much. Lucina moved her chair closer towards him. When she did, Inigo held out with his hand. She looked at it for a moment before moving forward to take it. She didn't know what made her do it, but, gods, she nearly lost him today. Maybe that was all the reason she needed. "...This is all my fault. I'm so sorry."

Confusion swept across his face. "...what are you talking about?"

"I saw you," she confessed, "you were outnumbered. You needed help, but so did my father and I choose him over you..."

"I see." His expression was neutral, but she couldn't stand to look at him, not after what she had done. "Lucina, look at me." he said. She couldn't. She was too ashamed of herself to do so. She had done what she did to save her father, but it didn't change the fact that she had left him to die out there. When Lucina didn't respond to his words, he slipped his hand out of her loose hold and reached out to tilt her chin up, making it harder for her to avoid his eyes. "Lucy..."

She was surprised to hear him use her childhood nickname for the first time in years. When she looked at him, there was no condemnation in his eyes and she wanted to curse him for being too ready to forgive her.

"Please don't cry," he whispered, "I hate seeing pretty girls cry."

Lucina pulled away and angrily shook her head. "I'm not crying," she said irritably. He shouldn't be comforting her, not right now, and she refused to give him a reason to do so.

Inigo dropped his arm at his side again and sighed. "Of course you aren't," he said in a way that sounded like he was accepting defeat, "you lost him once already, so of course you went to save him."

He understood, but it was no excuse for what she did. She had done her best to protect them all in the future, so what changed? Having her father back and making his safety her top priority? Yes, she could've lost her father again, but Henry and Olivia also could have lost a son. They all could have lost a friend. As much as she hated the thought of losing her father again, she didn't want to lose her friends anymore that she wanted to lose him.

"I only wish you didn't have to get hurt when I did."

"Lucina," he said firmly as he made a gesture towards his bandaged side, "I don't blame you for this, so neither should you." When he yawned when he finished, not unlike how his father had earlier. "I'm still kind of sleepy... is that supposed to be normal?"

"You did lose a lot of blood," Lucina pointed out, glad for the subject change. She didn't really want to hear Inigo tell her that it wasn't her fault when she knew she was still at least partially responsible for his injury. "The healers had to cast a lot of magic on you just to keep your vitals stable."

"That might explain it..." Inigo murmured closing his eyes. Before long, he was asleep again.

Silently standing up, she had little excuse or reason to do what she did next. Lucina kissed Inigo's cheek. A light brush against his skin that lasted less than a fraction of a second.

Remembering she was in a place where anyone could walk in and witness what she did, Lucina hastily backed off and looked around. Luckily, the tent was empty.

Lucina was forced to make a choice with no correct answer. In the aftermath, Lucina thought she would never see Inigo's easy grins or feel that twinge of annoyance when she noticed him flirting with some other woman ever again. Most importantly, she wished Inigo didn't have to have a near-death experience for her to realize she was in love with him.

* * *

When Inigo woke up again, he was stiff all over from doing nothing but lie around for so long, but his head was clear. He pushed himself into a sitting position, wincing as he felt the wound at his side throb.

"Easy there," Brady came over from the other side of the tent. "Ma told me to get you up," he said gruffly, "but you look like ya already are. Guess I'll just change your bandages, then." After a bit of deliberation, the priest said, "Good to see you're fine. Scared the shit outta us."

Inigo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Brady. I'll be more careful next time."

"Yeah, you do that." As Brady shuffled out to look for their supply of gauze, Inigo felt his face.

_Did that...really happen?_


	27. Taste of Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Food for the soul.

If there was one thing Inigo thought that made all the endless fighting bearable, it was the fact that he didn't have to loiter around camp and  _wait_. On the battlefield, he simply let his instincts take over for him and, as much as he loathed to admit it, fighting was practically second nature for him by now. Sitting out of one meant that he had to wait for those who were fighting to return or, in the worst case-scenario, the news that someone may not return.

As if to make things worse, his parents were among those who were gone. Robin explained to him why she needed his parents to participate in the battle, but not him. Inigo had wanted to argue with the head tactician even though the ins and outs of battlefield tactics was her shtick and not his, but he knew Robin wouldn't revise the plan she and Chrom had spent hours drafting on one person's emotional appeal.

Olivia had assured him she has been training extra hard and Henry promised him he wasn't feeling his about-to-die tingle, but watching them leave camp made him feel like a child again. He wasn't like Cynthia or Gerome, whose parents went out to fight and never came back, but losing them once was bad enough for him, how will he be able to cope with losing them again?

Frustrated, Inigo decided to stop his erratic pacing and see if he could get something to eat from where the kitchen area was located. He walked past a group of soldiers passing time by playing a card game. One of them asked if he wanted to join in, but he shook his head.

He caught the sound of knife against cutting board before he even entered and was surprised to find that it was Lucina. He was a little surprised to see her sitting out of a fight, but at least he wouldn't have to worry about her as well.

She heard him come in when he did and she turned away from the vegetables she was cutting to acknowledge him. "Inigo."

He returned her greeting. With a nod towards the ingredients he asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

"Cooking," she replied in a flat tone that seemed to be asking ' _what else could I be doing?_ ' She pushed the carrot pieces she finished cutting out of the way so she could begin to do the same with some mushrooms. She exhaled and pursed her lips. "I hurt my leg yesterday. Aunt Lissa said I should take it easy."

"I can see that," Inigo responded, "What are you making?"

She made a cut before replying, "Something for Morgan. I promised him that I would cook something for him one of these days to see if it will help with his memories," she explained. "Mother wouldn't let me join in the battle today with my leg healing, so I thought I could make something now and give it to him when he came back."

Now that she mentioned it, she did seem to be putting most of her weight on her right leg. It's no wonder that Lucina wasn't fighting today either. Between a mother's instincts and common sense, it wasn't surprising that Robin had her daughter sit out of this one.

Looking at her face again, Inigo realized she was like him in that way. Her parents had left one day and neither of them came back. The Frederick from their time, now dead with the others, had presented her with her father's sword upon his return with a mournful apology for failing his duties as a knight. Watching them leave camp today must have felt like history was repeating for her. Lucina hated doing nothing while her friends and comrades were in danger, so she had decided to vent all her negative feelings into some physical activity to keep herself occupied.

"Well... it looks good so far." Inigo had long stopped wondering how Lucina was such an amazing cook when her family was...well, not. Chrom was notorious for making food that could bring a hardened soldier to his knees in a single bite. Robin would occasionally manage to make something tasty, but such moments were rare at best. Morgan himself was apparently a decent chef if he put his mind to it, but unfortunately for everyone else, his habit of straying away from the original recipe mixed with a slightly questionable sense of what tasted well together lead to disastrous results more often than not.

"I just started to brew the water, Inigo." Lucina replied wryly. She handed him a knife. "You can do something productive and help."

"I thought this was for Morgan," Inigo said despite taking the knife and picking up a potato. Like most of his comrades from the future, Inigo had taught himself how to cook out of necessity once his parents were gone, though they rarely had the chance to make anything that wasn't game meat. "I would hate to change the taste."

She gave a little amused "hmmm" and the sound dispels some of his worry. "You and he used to play Justice Cabal together with Owain. I'm sure he won't mind."

Thinking of the silly things they used to do as children was a lot better than worrying about what was going on in the battle. Inigo began to peel the potato with a trick he learned from Owain, who in turn had picked up from Lon'qu. "Mostly Owain though. I could never keep up with them."

They worked for about an hour or so. Lucina had added some more water to the pot at some point. The ingredients were cooking and a spice or two added.

The soup was just about ready when Inigo heard somebody shouting that the army has returned. Lucina immediately jumped up and headed toward the camp entrance. Inigo followed her at once, his placid state replaced with anxiousness.  _Please let everyone be okay..._

Lucina was with her family. Judging by the look of relief on her face and Robin's smile, the strategy she had in mind seemed to have gone exactly as planned. Still, he wouldn't be able to relax until he knew for sure his parents were safe.

Inigo walked by many of his friends, but did not stop until he caught sight of his parents. Olivia looked a little weary, but Henry was grinning broadly, as he always did after a battle. Not too many injuries from what he could see. Without wasting a moment, Inigo ran up into their arms. Olivia let out a quiet "oh!" and Henry a small yelp, but both were quick to return it. Finally exhaling the breath he had been holding all day, his voice a little muffled, and his throat a little tight, he whispered, "I'm so  _happy_  you came back..."

* * *

Lucina sat down next to him at dinner. She pushed a bowl of soup over to him. "It's a little thin," she admitted, "but I wanted to save some for you. Thank you for helping me with it… and for keeping me company."

He should be thanking her for letting him help her, otherwise he may have spent the day wearing out his boots while worrying himself mad. Nevertheless touched by this gesture, Inigo accepted her offer gratefully. Picking up a spoon, he inquired about the broth's original purpose. "Did it help Morgan remember anything?"

Lucina shook her head. "No, but he liked it though."

He took his first bite just then and grinned. "Can't blame him. It  _is_  really good."

She smiled back. "Don't give me all the credit, Inigo. You and I made it together."


	28. Quiet Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dance practice.

Inigo stood unmoving in the middle of their campsite. The fire they built to cook their dinner as been extinguished as it was a potential hazard for what they intended to do next. The moon wouldn't be full again until another night or so, but it still provided enough light for them both.

Clearing her throat from where she was sitting at the edge of the clearing so to give Inigo as much space as he needed, and next to Falchion and Inigo's own sword, Lucina hummed an experimental tune.

"Ready?"

He breathed deep, closing his eyes and exhaled. "Yes."

No one in the Shepherds had a voice that could match the lovely soprano that belonged to Olivia - Lucina's felt almost rough in comparison - but for all intents and purposes, Inigo didn't really care. He danced to the tune of melodies that existed only in his head all too often and whether it was Brady's violin or a lullaby sung by someone who had long forgotten its accompanying words, it was nice to be accompanied by an external source of music.

Lucina has found herself humming songs quite a lot during the past fortnight, may it be a poorly emulated version Brady's violin rondos or what little she remembered of the notes played on a traveling bard's flute. She had discovered that it helped soothe her infant self's crying when she cared for her in the place of their absent mother while Chrom was busy attending to the affairs of the state. Singing to an infant who did not care about how well somebody could carry a tune was one thing, but singing before an audience was something else. Lucina would be among the first to admit that she was a terrible songstress, but at least she didn't have plans to become known as one.

Even after the war ended, Inigo was still terribly shy when it comes to people watching him dance. Exceptions were made in regards to her and a select few others, such Olivia and, surprisingly enough, Gerome, but most of the time, he would be too overcome by nervousness to dance his best.

So Lucina came up with a solution:  _"I'll sing for you during practice._ Only _during practice, but I will still be terribly embarrassed. But if you knew someone else was feeling embarrassed… well, maybe you wouldn't be so embarrassed yourself when you perform for real."_

To her delight, it was working. The improvements in his performances were small at first, but she's seen him dance before both a crowd and only a few people before. She saw how he began to make eye contact with his audience instead of trying to avoid their gazes out of shyness.

Of course, Inigo slowly overcoming his confidence issues when it came to his dancing came with some side effects. She trusted Inigo, but she'd be lying if she said that the admiring looks and flirtatious giggles he was starting to get from young village maidens didn't annoy her. Perhaps he had picked up her vexation on the matter, but Inigo would only thank them with a sincere smile, the same way he did with everyone, and nothing more.

Inigo makes a rather clumsy transition into a series of steps Lucina doesn't remember seeing and she has seen this routine many times as he practiced. Her brow furrows, and then she realizes it's not his mistake, not really. She had accidentally skipped over an entire verse, catching him by surprise. Nonetheless, Inigo doesn't stop and ask to start again from the top. He keeps dancing, improvising the steps as he did so, so Lucina continues with her song from where she had messed up. When the song and dance ended, Inigo held his finishing pose for a moment before relaxing with a satisfied smile.

Lucina coughed lightly, her throat sore. Her fiancee handed her a canteen, which she took gratefully. As she gulped down the water, Inigo sat down on the grass next to her.

"You don't have to keep doing this, you know." Inigo said once she was finished. He had winced when she coughed and his expression told her he was concerned for her, as always.

"Does it help you?" She asked. Her voice felt scratchy as she spoke, but she held his eyes firmly. "Be honest."

They stared at each other for a long time. Finally, Inigo exhaled in frustration. "...Yes," he admitted, "It helps." With her singing, he could fully focus on his choreography without needing to simultaneously create a beat to accompany him in his mind.

Smiling almost smugly once she had made her point – she  _will_  help him hone his skills. A sore throat every other day or so was worth it – Lucina leaned against his shoulder, holding the canteen in both hands. Inigo let out a contented sigh and held her closer.

"Thank you for doing this for me," he said earnestly. "It means a lot...really."


	29. A Mother's Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "When I told you that you'll find eventually find some young lass who'll fall for your questionable charms, I was not referring to my daughter."

When Robin was found asleep in the same plain where she first met Chrom and Lissa just in time for her daughter's wedding, she was absolutely convinced that the higher powers must have a very deviant sense of humor.

The hardest part about that was to keep the attention off herself and on Lucina (and Inigo) where it belonged. As a result, she spent most of the morning being tackled with hugs (Nowi, Ricken, Cynthia), cried at (Olivia, Sumia, Noire), scolded (Maribelle), sworn at (Sully), shadowed (Tharja), and close to falling face first onto the dirt from overly enthusiastic back pats (Gregor, Vaike) in hopes that the novelty of her return will wear off by the time the ceremony was to begin.

Once that chaos was over, the tactician was quite happy to finally escape to find her children. After hearing from Owain that Morgan was helping Brady recollect his sheet music after they were scattered around the place in an incident that involved Sully's devil steed, a Reeking Box – hasn't Henry learned to  _not_  leave his things lying around? – and a bilberry pie, she decided it was probably easier (and safer) to track down her daughter first.

When she knocked, she learned that chaos wasn't quite over yet. It was Nah who answered the door and it only took a glance up to see who their visitor was.

Clad in white, Lucina herself seemed to have lost the ability to do anything at the sight of her. Robin was at a lost for words, too. She remembered the day the couple had decided to drop the bomb on her, Chrom, and Inigo's parents as clearly as though it were yesterday. She had initially been thinking something along the lines of  _I'm-a-tactician-how-_ _did-I-not-see-this-coming_ , especially when she noticed Olivia's positively  _delighted_  reaction upon receiving the news. To cover up the fact that she was actually caught off guard by the revelation, she gave Inigo a dry comment of  _"W_ _hen I told you that you'll find eventually find some young lass who'll fall for your questionable charms, I was not referring to my daughter_ " while innocuously taking hold Chrom's sword arm tightly in both her own, more out of worry for what Henry might do to him if he made a show of aggression towards Inigo than anything else.

In hindsight, it was perhaps she still had some trouble separating the baby girl likely still asleep back in Ylisse and the grown woman before her. This time travel business could get confusing sometimes.

"It's really me, Lucina..."

"I..." Lucina wasted no time in getting up on her feet. Severa made no attempt to stop her and only made a discreet exit with the other bridesmaids to give mother and daughter some privacy, though not without subtly reminding them that they did not have all day. "I  _knew_  you'd come back," she said as she embraced her mother, "But I missed you so much..."

"I missed you, too," Robin murmured as returned the embrace, "I'm so sorry for the tears I must've caused you and your brother."

Pulling back, Lucina shook her head with a smile, "It's alright. We both believed you would come back. And you did."

"Then the timing couldn't have been better," Robin joked, "I wouldn't miss my daughter's wedding for anything." She gently fingered the lace on one sleeve of the dress. "This looks familiar. Is it mine?"

"Father said you wouldn't mind."

"He knows me too well," Robin sighed. The ending of the war with Plegia almost felt like something that happened in another lifetime. She supposed it was unavoidable with everything that happened since then.

The smile on Lucina's face dimmed. "Mother?"

Her sentimentalism must've shown. "Don't mind me," she assured Lucina. "This  _is_  your day after, all." Oh, well, at least she can take comfort in the fact that she still has a daughter to dote on now that the war was over. Thoughtfulness gone, Robin noticed the little tell-tale signs of pre-wedding nervousness in her daughter's eyes.

"Nervous?"

Lucina nodded. "Is that normal?" she asked, worried, "I mean...I'm not  _doubting_  this, am I?"

"It is certainly normal to feel nervous before your wedding," Robin said objectively, "Goodness knows I've seen my fair share of nervous brides and I've been one myself."

"Really?" She'd always seen her mother as a confidant woman who never doubted herself, other than the time when she learned who she truly was, so it was assuring to know that beyond that brilliance she was ceaselessly praised for, Robin was as human as the next woman.

"Really," Robin repeated, "If it's Inigo's fidelity you're worried about, I can assure you there's nothing to fret over."

Lucina gave her a suspicious look. "And how would you know about that, Mother?"

 _Oh, shit_. The young bride absolutely did not need to know that Robin had secretly gotten a few Shepherds (one of whom demanded payment in the form of confections, of course) to help her keep an eye on Inigo to make sure he was telling the truth when he said he intended to be fully loyal to Lucina. True, she was probably being overly paranoid and overprotective, but she often decided to be safe than sorry when it came to her children. Future son of her best friend or not, she was determined to not give him any more leeway than he deserved.

Plus, the added bonus of her little scheme helped Chrom come to terms with the idea and put him on the track of getting used to the prospect of becoming in-laws with a certain sociopathic, hex happy dark mage.

"He's a terrible liar," Robin said as nonchalantly as possible, "I would know if he were lying. He must get it from his parents." And none of Henry's more...unconventional quirks, thank the gods.  _One_  Henry in this world was enough. "But whether I like or not, Inigo's proven himself to me and I would never try to get between the two of you if he truly makes you happy. Does he?"

"Yes, Mother, he does." There was no hesitation when she replied. "I never expected it, to tell the truth, but I can't imagine it any other way now."

"Good," Robin said with a slight shake in her voice, "That's all I needed to hear." They hugged each other one more time. "Shall I get Severa to come back? I'd hate to be the one to get this wedding off schedule."

"And I'm guessing you need to see Lady Maribelle about getting properly attired for the occasion yourself?"

Robin made a face that teetered the line between a grin and a grimace and Lucina couldn't help but let out a small laugh at her mother's expense.

Leaving her daughter to finish her pre-wedding preparations, Robin didn't shed her tears until she was a good distance away. She had been touched when Lucina once explained to her that she's always wanted to lead a normal, happy life and was ready it give it to her in any means necessary. She rarely, if ever, found herself utterly speechless, but this time, she truly could not express the joyous feeling of knowing her daughter was on the road to happiness.

Gathering herself, Robin retraced her steps, not to see Maribelle (she was trying to prolong that visit as long as possible), but to where Owain said Morgan would likely be once he finished his little errand.

_I trust that Chrom and Morgan have covered the essentials while I was away...but paying that soon to be son-in-law of mine a last-minute visit couldn't hurt..._


	30. A Reason To Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, life goes on.

Her hands felt clumsy, but steady from years of swordplay as she weaves the stems together under the watchful gaze of a child. She remembered doing this before as a child. The Sumia from her ruined world was the one who had taught her and she did her best to recall the instructions the legendary pegasus knight had once spoken. Making a slit at the top of first stem, she threaded the stem of the last daisy, completing the loop.

"There! It's done!"

The young princess leaped up in happiness when the older woman placed the crown of daises upon her head. "Thank you!" she squealed happily. She and her fellow daisy-bedecked friends each gave her a hug in thanks before running off to join the others who were pestering Morgan – the older one, who stopped by for the occasion – to show them some tricks with his magic. Nah wasn't too far away from him, rolling her eyes at the spectacle, but smiling all the same.

Side-by-side, a grown man and a seemingly much younger girl, it was as though they were a visual reminder of how much has changed and how much that hasn't.

The changes were obvious, but what stayed the same was less so, at least on the surface. She may have parted ways with her friends and some of them were hard to contact due to being constantly on the move, not unlike herself and her husband, but it wasn't as though she never heard from them again. She also had her family and she took great care to write to them regularly while traveling, recounting the tales of her and Inigo's little escapades and putting their worries to rest in case they could not contact her directly. The invisible ties that held them together wouldn't be severed so easily by time and distance.

Dusting the stray grass off herself, Lucina sat down on the garden bench as she happily watched her younger self, affectionately referred to as Lucy (a nickname originally coined by her brother to avoid confusion between addressing the two of them) chatter away with her friends who were all invited to celebrate her birthday. Lucina loved Lucy as a younger sister and her feelings were mutual. Daddy's girl she may be, maybe even more than Lucina ever was, Lucy was prone asking endless questions about her adventures when simply reading about the rest of the world wasn't enough to satisfy her curiosity.

But for better or for worse, she still hasn't asked the question Lucina had no idea how to answer. Her parents told the child that Lucina was kind of like an older sister to her and she had accepted that, though a little grudgingly because it meant that she won't be the oldest child in their family anymore. Maybe she was too young to notice that Chrom and Robin were far too young to have a child Lucina's age now, but one day she was going to notice and start asking questions...

Suddenly, somebody covered her eyes from behind and a voice whispered softly in her ear, "Why the scowl, love? You shouldn't be frowning  _today_  of all days."

If she had unconsciously started frowning as she thought about the day where her younger self would realize that there was more to her sister than meets the eye, it was gone nearly the instant when he made his presence known. He had a funny way of being able to put her mind at ease like that.

Hands sliding down from her face and onto her shoulders, Lucina turned around to find herself face to face with Inigo. Her husband had disappeared from her side when Lucy came up to her and asked her if she knew how to make a flower crown. She had thought it was because he wasn't interested, but she was proven wrong when she saw one sitting lopsidedly off his head. Noticing where her eyes were fixated, he grinned and removed the chain of daisies and placed it on hers.

"It  _is_  your birthday, too," he explained in response to the quizzical look she gave him.

"I suppose it is," She's outgrown her excitement for birthdays, but she thought it was sweet of him nonetheless. "Thank you, Inigo."

Still behind her, Inigo draped his arms around her shoulders as she reclined against him. "So what were you thinking about?" he questioned curiously.

The words came out almost automatically. "About the day when she finally learns the truth," Lucina replied, referring to her younger self. "It's not as though we can keep it a secret forever. One day, they're going to ask questions."

Inigo narrowed his eyes as a boy took a toy away from another boy, one with silver colored hair, not unlike himself. The first boy held the toy out of reach of the second while blowing raspberries and making fun of him. After a few unsuccessful attempts to reclaim his toy, the silver haired boy started to cry and that was all it took to set off Inigo's protective instincts. Lucina felt him tense.

Before he could give the bully a few choice words, Morgan confiscated the stolen toy and handed it back to its rightful owner.

Relaxing again, Inigo murmured, "That is not a conversation I'm looking forward to." After all, how do you tell a child that was some alternate world out there, one where his beloved parents died and the world went to hell, and the person he's considered a brother was actually  _him_  from that world?

"It's going to be hard," Lucina agreed. The children who were now begging Nah to transform and give them a ride on her back were blissfully unaware that they will one day be facing an identity crisis.

"But something tells me we'll get through it okay," Inigo speculated with a small smile, "After all, who else is a better candidate to teach him how to talk to girls when the time comes?"

Suppressing a groan and not entirely sure if he was joking or not, Lucina reached up and gave him a light swat. "Please don't. I'm sure there are  _other_  ways to improve his self-confidence."

"Okay, okay!" Inigo answered. More seriously he added, "So I suppose we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it?"

"Hmm...Yes, I suppose so..."

Chrom and Robin had joined their younger daughter in the gardens now, the latter holding an infant in her arms. Watching them, Lucina did her best to feel  _something_  – envy, longing, a sense of knowing she didn't belong despite welcomed as a part of the family – but she felt nothing.

Nothing negative, anyway. Almost as a reflex, her hand found itself resting on her stomach. She was not so far along that it was obvious from just looking, but knowing was enough to send a thrill of mixed emotions through her.

The whole thing was completely unexpected. Then again, a lot of things that happened hadn't been expected. Falling in love, marriage, and motherhood were the kinds of things she might have included in her visions of 'normal life' if she'd ever thought about them. Except that she didn't until the moment where she had an epiphany that made her realize she felt more than friendship for one of her comrades in arms. As her mother would probably say, war had a funny way of bringing love alongside its less benevolent twin.

"Let's take a walk," Lucina suggested. She needed to clear her head. Her parents didn't know yet as she decided to put off telling them until Lucy's birthday party was over. "Everyone is distracted right now. We'll come back when it's time to cut the cake."

Inigo did a double take at her suggestion, "What? Now? In your condition?"

"First Brady and Aunt Lissa, now you?" Not much of a retort, but she was starting to get a little exasperated with how everyone who knew was treating her. She may be pregnant, but she hasn't become helpless all of a sudden. "Inigo, I'm not  _that_  far along."

"Sorry," he replied a little sheepishly, "I'm just worried."

Smiling as she was never angry to begin with, she turned around and kissed his cheek in appreciation for his concern. "I promise I'm not going to do anything that will overexert myself."

"You don't exactly have a stellar record with the 'not overexerting yourself' part."

"I mean it," Lucina said, knowing she couldn't deny the fact that he was right about that because Brady and Laurent can back him up on it. "I am  _not_  going to overexert myself knowing I'm with child. All the better to take this walk now? I know I will be longing for them in a few months time."

Running a hand through his hair, Inigo knew he didn't have it in him to refuse his wife on her birthday (not that he had much resistance to begin with anyway). "Alright, let's go."

Grabbing his hand, Lucina led him away from the party like a pair of children committing truancy. Morgan caught his sister's eye as she left, but he only smirked and turned a blind eye.

Of course, it was all a pretense to get some time alone.

As soon as they were away from prying eyes, Lucina caressed his face. Closing his eyes in content, Inigo encircled her wrist with one hand and fingered the flowers as he ran his hands through her hair. She had cut it short once, to spare herself the trouble of having to maintain it, but now it was starting to return to its original length.

Drawing her closer, he opened his eyes long enough to say, "I still owe you a birthday present this year don't I? At least one that's better than an amateur daisy crown."

"Don't be silly," she whispered against his lips, "You've given me a reason to smile for everyday of my life and  _that_  is worth far more than any birthday gift."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: The prompt for this last drabble was "on one of their birthdays" and I originally intended to post it on April 20.


End file.
